While most students spent their winter breaks enjoying their time away from Connecticut College watching Netflix and bumming around their homes or traveling to places with warm weather, the Connecticut College Men’s Hockey team was busy playing games and even bringing home some hardware. The Men’s Hockey team played six games over the break, two of which were tournament games, and during those six games the team went 5 and 1. The first two games the team played were part of the 50th annual Codfish Bowl, a four team tournament involving UMASS-Boston, Lake Forest, Hamilton College and Connecticut College.
The Camels shocked the UMASS-Boston Beacons, ranked as #5 and #7 in two separate national polls, in the first round of the tournament with a 4-1 win. The Camels went down 1-0 in the middle of the first period, but took the lead minutes later after scoring two consecutive power play goals. The Camels didn’t look back after that and scored two more goals, while holding off UMASS-Boston to win the game 4-1.
The Camels then faced off against the #14 Lake Forest Foresters (NESCAC mascots are much more creative than most schools) in the championship game. This game was a complete barn burner that eventually ended in the eighth round of a shootout. The Camels scored the first goal of the game seven minutes into the first period, but the Foresters were able to bounce back with a goal of their own one minute into the third period. From there the game went into a deadlock in which neither team was able to break through and score in regulation or overtime.
The Camels almost lost in shootout after Lake Forest’s third shooter scored a goal, but thanks to Connecticut College’s JC Cangelosi ‘15 goal the Camels stayed alive. In the eighth round of the shootout, Connecticut College’s Captain Zach Jones ‘15 scored a goal and sealed the win for Connecticut College. It was the Camels first ever Codfish Bowl tournament win.
Connecticut College’s goaltender Tom Conlin ’16, was named the tournament MVP. Maybe it was the fact that Conlin was playing only a few miles from his hometown, but the junior goaltender was on fire. He stopped 69 of 71 shots, compiling a 1.04 goals against average to go along with an impressive .971 save percentage, while also stopping 7 out of 8 shootout attempts.
After the tournament ended the Camels stayed hot, winning 3 more games including a third period comeback thriller in which the Camels beat nationally ranked Amherst 6-4 after scoring 5 goals. Between Dec. 5th and Jan. 16th the Camels didn’t lose a single game. Unfortunately their hot streak ended with a disappointing loss to Hamilton College, and a hard fought loss against the top NESCAC and #3 nationally ranked Trinity College. They found their groove again with a 4-1 win against Wesleyan, so hopefully the Camels can catch fire as they face NESCAC opponents in their final eight games this season. Currently ranked 7th in the NESCAC the Camels need to win as many games as possible during this stretch so that they can guarantee a playoff spot for themselves. Ranked fourth in the NESCAC the men continued their success with two wins this past weekend. Topping third ranked Williams 3-1 on Friday Conlin ‘16 had thirty saves in net and the Camels topped the Ephs with goals by Mowery ‘17, JC Cangelosi ‘15 and Brian Belisle ‘17. Saturday they brought home another win defeating seventh ranked Middlebury 3-0 with Giordano ‘17, Patel ‘15 and Tim DiPretoro ‘17 while Conlin kept the barn door shut. This weekend has the Camels set up in a great position for the remainder of the season and the NESCAC tournament.•
