Photo Courtesy of Kevin Lieue
On November 28, Connecticut College’s Men’s Club Hockey team faced off against their Thames River rivals, the Coast Guard Academy Bears. This game marks a special tradition between the two, as Gavin Dowley ‘24 says. Students from both schools packed the stands in Dayton Arena, setting a rowdy environment for the soon to be physical, eventful game. Dowley described the atmosphere as “electric.” He continued, stating that “everyone knows it’s one of the largest sporting events that Conn has, and it is always a very well-attended game, so everyone is pretty stoked to go out and work their hardest to win.”
Only 32 seconds into the first period, Coast Guard was able to put the puck in the back of the net, giving their team an early 1-0 lead. Despite the almost immediate Coast Guard edge, the Camels fought back, scoring the equalizer with 13:43 left in the period. Sophomore Atticus Roop’s goal for Conn gave the team the necessary momentum to carry on with their Bear hunt. Slamming into the boards often, the two teams established this physical match-up. The first period continued with a series of icing calls and power plays for both sides. Around the 10 minute mark, Conn’s goaltender, Evan Nilan ‘26, made an excellent save, keeping the game tied. After a series of attempts, the Camels were able to find the back of the net with a big hit on defense resulting in forward Atticus Roop’s ability to steal the puck and slot it in with 6:12 remaining. However, the Bears did not let this decide the score at the end of the period. Only 12 seconds after the Camels’ goal, Coast Guard’s forward Kyle Jacobson slit in a rather easy goal that Conn could have prevented. The action-packed first period closed out with a series of passes, icing calls, and stops from both goaltenders. The score remained even at 2-2, and both teams were still hungry for more.
As the Zamboni cleared the rink, the Camels skated back out ready for the next 20 minutes. Both teams started out strong once more with numerous shots; however, both goaltenders were able to grab the puck and stop the play. An especially good save for the Camels came with 17:08 left, as Coast Guard rocketed the puck towards the net, forcing Nilan to block the shot to maintain the even scoreline. Shortly thereafter, Conn was able to pull ahead with 16-and-a-half minutes remaining in the period. Forward Atticus Roop applied pressure to the Bears’ defense, allowing forward Charlie Kerrigan ‘27 to swoop in and net the puck, giving the Camels a 3-2 lead. Coast Guard quickly responded, tying the game back up with 14:39 remaining. Both teams continued to battle fairly evenly, skating up and down the rink. Conn had a series of good chances but was unable to capitalize.
The fans grew rowdier, sensing that a goal was on the brink for the Camels. Sure enough, with 7:21 left, Conn’s forward Cam Yee ‘25 received a puck off the wall and slotted it behind the goaltender to grow the Camels’ lead. Following behind his teammate, forward and assistant captain Owen Stacey took a long range shot at the six-and-a-half minute mark and scored, increasing the Camels’ lead to 5-2 over the Bears. Resulting from a two minute penalty against the Camels, Coast Guard took advantage of a power play edge. Finding the puck right in front of the net, the Bears easily scored and closed the lead to only one point. The Camels were not done yet. At the 1:52 mark, forward Shane Jellison ‘26 demonstrated excellent stick work and found the back of the net, with an assist from defenseman Luke Begg ‘27. With the score now being 6-4, the Camels attempted to add another one to the scoreline, but Coast Guard’s goaltender Stone Grant was able to prevent this, with a crazy save to close out the second period.
Conn started the third period with a strong power play with five on three for a few minutes, but nothing came to fruition as a result. The first five minutes of the period were fairly quiet. The physicality was ramped back up by forward Aidan Trainor ‘26 for the Camels, hitting a Bear and snapping his stick, reinstating the Camels’ dominating presence in their home arena. The scoring silence was eventually broken by the Bears with 2:31 remaining, as forward Kyle Jacobson utilized his stickhandling and found the back of the net to bring Coast Guard within one of Connecticut College. Despite a last ditch effort for a rally by pulling their goalie, the Bears ended up falling short, and the Camels became the victors of the Thames River Classic once again.
The final whistle blew, and the crowd dressed in blue and white erupted in celebration. As the Coast Guard fans quickly exited Dayton Arena in disappointment, the PA systems played “We are the Champions,” and the Camels celebrated their triumphant victory over their rivals from the nearby service academy. Dowley says that winning this game during his senior season was an “awesome feeling.” “It really just comes down to who wants it more, a total battle, and this year I was happy we rose to the challenge and beat them.” Once again, the Thames River Classic did not disappoint. Go Camels! Until next year…
