Men's Ice Hockey

Hamilton to Host NESCAC Men's Ice Hockey Championship Weekend

HADLEY, Mass. – The Hamilton Continentals will host the remaining rounds of the NESCAC Men’s Ice Hockey Championship for the second consecutive season. The semifinals and finals will be played on March 7-8 at Sage Rink.

The top-seeded Continentals will host No. 6 Williams at 1 p.m. in the first semifinal on Saturday, March 7. No. 4 Middlebury faces No. 2 Bowdoin in the second semifinal set for 4:30 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet in the NESCAC Championship game on Sunday, March 8 at 2 p.m.
 
TICKETS
Tickets for the semifinal games are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors, $3 for students/children 3 and older, and children under 3 are free. A separate ticket is needed for each semifinal game as the rink will be cleared between semifinals. Due to the limited capacity at Sage Rink, fans are strongly encouraged to buy tickets online. Complete ticket information can be found HERE.

HOW TO WATCH
A live webcast will be available at NESCAC.com on computers and mobile devices. The webcast can also be seen on Roku, AppleTV, and Amazon Fire devices. Search for NESCAC Network and download the channel. Click here for more information.

CHAMPIONSHIP GEAR
NESCAC Men's Ice Hockey Championship merchandise is available now on SquadLocker. NESCAC Championship gear can be personalized with a name or number and shipped directly to your home. Click the Shop Now button below.
 
No. 1 Hamilton Continentals (19-4-2) vs. No. 6 Williams Ephs (10-13-2)
  • Hamilton is playing in its fourth semifinal in five years following a 5-4 overtime victory against No. 8 Conn. College in the quarterfinals. Noah Leibl scored the overtime winner at 4:45 of the extra period as top-seeded Hamilton escaped with a 5-4 victory over Connecticut College in a back-and-forth contest at Sage Rink. Leibl also scored in the first period to tie the game at 1-1.
  • Hamilton is the defending NESCAC Champion after winning its first NESCAC title in program history last season.
  • Devon de Vries (6-23—29) and Luke Tchor (15-13—28) lead the Continentals' offense. A total of five Continentals have tallied 20 or more points this season.
  • Max Bulawka has the best face-off percentage in the conference (.582) for the second year in a row.
  • Aksel Reid is the top netminder for Hamilton with a 1.76 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.
  • Hamilton has a high-powered offensive scoring 93 goals (3.72 pg) this season while limiting opponents to 43 (1.72 GAA).
  • Williams returns to the semifinals for the first time since 2023, the same year the Ephs last played in a championship game.
  • Harrison Fogel made 31 saves, and Williams scored three unanswered goals after falling behind in the first period to defeat No. 3-seeded Tufts, 3-1. Tufts took an early advantage, scoring at 18:01 of the first. After the intermission, Conner Fitzpatrick tied the game, 1-1, at 7:05 of the second period and less than six minutes later, Jackson Krill put Williams ahead for good at 12:3. Gates Omicioli added an insurance marker 3:05 into the third period.
  • Jackson Krill and Jake McManus are tied for the team lead in points with 25 each. Krill has scored a team-high 11 goals to go with 14 assists while McManus has eight goals and a team-best 17 assists. They are one of nine skaters with 11 or more points.
  • Harrison Fogel and Kael DePape have split time in net this season. Fogel, who was the winning netminder in the quarterfinal game, has a 2.93 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. DePape carries a 4.34 goals against average and a .868 save percentage.
  • Hamilton and Williams split the regular season series. The Continentals won, 4-3, in overtime at Williams on December 5, while the Ephs posted a 4-3 win at Hamilton on February 20 in the final weekend of the regular season. The Continentals are 3-0 versus Williams in the NESCAC Tournament. The teams last met in the 2019 quarterfinals with Hamilton winning 4-3 in overtime.
No. 2 Bowdoin Polar Bears (19-6-1) vs. No. 4 Middlebury Panthers (14-8-3)
  • The Polar Bears are in the semifinals for the first time since 2023, the same year Bowdoin won its last NESCAC trophy.
  • Jacob Osborne stopped 22 of 23 shots and Bryce Bollman and Louie Marcellino contributed two points each as Bowdoin defeated No. 7-seeded Amherst, 3-1, at Watson Arena. Michael Dinges opened the scoring just 68 seconds into the contest to give the Polar Bears an early lead they would not relinquish. Marcellino added a second-period goal at 7:34 to push Bowdoin's advantage to 2-0. Amherst trimmed the deficit to 2-1 on a power-play goal at 16:48 of the second period. Will Killoran scored 3:01 into the third period to restore the two-goal cushion and seal the outcome for Bowdoin.
  • Will Rice leads 11 Polar Bears who have registered double-digits in the points column this season. Rice has 19 points on eight goals and a team-best 11 assists. Bryce Bollman (8-10—18) and Jayson Alegria (8-8—16) have also notched eight goals this season.
  • Jacob Osborne is the top goalie for Bowdoin, starting all 23 games he has played. Osborne owns a 1.65 goals against average to go with a .941 save percentage and four shutouts.
  • Middlebury advanced to the semifinals for the third year in a row following a wild 3-2 comeback victory over No. 5 Wesleyan. Tyler Wishart scored 9:56 into the second overtime period as Middlebury rallied from a two-goal deficit with under two minutes remaining in regulation to defeat Wesleyan, 3-2, at Chip Kenyon Arena. Wesleyan carried a 2-0 lead deep into the third period before Middlebury mounted its comeback. Luc Malkhassian scored with an extra attacker at 18:10, and 37 seconds later, Landon Brownlee tied the game at 18:47, also with the goalie pulled, to force overtime. Wishart's game-winner capped a Middlebury effort that saw the Panthers outshoot Wesleyan 76-26 across all periods. Patrick McDevitt was extraordinary in goal for Wesleyan, making 73 saves, setting an NESCAC Championship and Wesleyan school record for most saves in a single game.
  • Middlebury owns the most titles in conference history (8), its last coming in 2010, and last appeared in the championship game in 2012.
  • Middlebury has a balanced attack with three skaters tallying 18 points this season. Jack Silverman has a team-best seven goals to go with 11 assists. Tyler Wishart has a team-high 13 assists and five goals and Luc Malkhassian has chipped in six goals and 12 assists. Overall, six players have 15 or more points this season.
  • Andrew Heinze has started all 22 games he has played and carries a 2.40 goals against average and .919 save percentage into the semifinals.
  • The teams split the regular season series with each team winning on its home ice. The Polar Bears blanked the Panthers, 4-0, in Brunswick in the opening game of the season on November 14. Middlebury defeated Bowdoin, 3-2, at Chip Kenyon Arena on January 23. The Panthers are 6-2 versus Bowdoin in the NESCAC postseason series, which includes a 5-1 victory the last time the teams met in the 2024 quarterfinals.