Men’s Hockey maintain top conference position after tough week of competition

Colby Men’s Ice Hockey scraped through a series of close games, coming out the other side with their top spot in the NESCAC Rankings still intact.

After postponements due to winter storms, the team started off the week of Feb. 6 at home against Amherst. Applying the pressure early, the Mules outshot the Mammoths in the first period but were unable to establish a lead.

Through the second period, Colby continued to put shots on goal, but Amherst started to fire back. The Mammoths broke the deadlock shortly after with the only goal of the night coming in the seventeenth minute.

Alex Bourhas `23 won the faceoff to begin the third period and kickstart an aggressive push to tie up the game. He would finish with fourteen faceoff wins on the night, providing a consolatory standout individual performance as the Mules failed to wrestle the win away from Amherst, losing 1-0.

After the tough loss to Amherst, the Mules hosted Middlebury on Feb. 8. The Panthers arrived with only one conference win this season. However, they came into the Jack Kelley Arena set on beating Colby, and spoiling Colby’s first seed standing.

Middlebury fired quickly out of the gates, demanding four saves out of Colby’s goalie Andy Beran `24 before scoring just 1:48 into the period. Colby struggled to offset the early deficit, failing to convert on two power plays against the confident Panthers.

The second period started off similar to the first, with the Panthers punching home again 1:16 into the period, but this time around Colby landed a response just nineteen seconds later thanks to a goal from Brian Sanzone `22. 

Austen Halpin `22 helped the Mules land the one-two and tie up Middlebury with a goal forty five seconds later. Colby managed to kill two penalties and close out an otherwise scoreless second period.

Looking to justify their top spot in the conference and send Midllebury back to the basement, Colby came into the third period hungry for a winning goal. Sanzone, who kickstarted Colby’s comeback earlier in the game, provided Middlebury with a power play opportunity early in the period. The Mules defended the mismatched opportunity, but Sanzone soon linked up with fellow goal scorer Halpin to assist John McElaney `24’s game-winning goal. The Mules managed to protect their impressive record with the exciting 3-2 comeback win, now looking towards a trip to Middletown, Connecticut.

Colby faced second ranked Wesleyan Feb. 11, looking to knock their closest competitors off their heels in the standings. The Mules’ offense established itself early, with a goal thirty-eight seconds into the first period from Michael Morrissey `22. Colby’s attack found the back of the net again in the ninth minute with a goal from Justin Grillo `22, and the defense supported their momentum, killing two penalties.

Wesleyan began to test Beran’s consistency by firing more shots on goal and ultimately converting a power play in the fourteenth minute. Wesleyan continued to wrestle control of the game from the Mules into the third period, with a tying goal 8:41 in. The Cardinals looked to put Colby on the opposite side of a 3-2 comeback win, but they failed to convert a power play at the end of the period.

Heading into an overtime period featuring a three versus three matchup, Colby looked to stay focused and secure a result, but the Mules’ offense could not nail the game-winner. Beran’s composure capped off a night of twenty-seven saves individually and a 2-2 tie for the Mules heading into the next day’s matchup.

The next afternoon, the Mules remained in Connecticut for a matchup with Trinity, another NESCAC force looking for a late-season grab at Colby’s top spot in the conference.

Colby put two shots on goal early in the first, but Trinity’s early pressure pulled them ahead of the Mules with a goal 6:28 into the period. Colby, hungry to clear the deficit, established a back and forth with the Bantams until Trinity converted a power play in the final minutes of the second period. 

Trinity, looking to seal a tight game, and Colby, looking to fit another game-winner into the week, traded shots, each struggling to find the net well into the third period. After the Mules’ penalty kill, Jack Sullivan `24 scored an unassisted goal, leaving six and a half minutes for a crucial game-tying goal. Late pressure from Colby’s offense could not pull the Mules back into the game, and Colby left Connecticut with another unsatisfying result following a tightly contested matchup.

The Mules plan on leaving the losses behind as they head into the last week of the regular season,defending their home rink and the first seed heading into playoffs later this month by taking on Tufts Feb. 18 at home and Connecticut College Feb. 19, also at home.

~ Rohan Sinha ‘24