Milton, MA – The #1 ranked Curry Men's Hockey team will host #9 Hamilton on Saturday in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The winner will move on to the NCAA Frozen Four. Neither team has made the semifinals before. The Colonels enter the game with a 24-3-0 record on the season, and are riding a nation long 16 game win streak.
The Colonels are looking to take it a step further than where they have been each of the last two years. They have made it to the quarterfinals, just to be eliminated by the eventual national champion Hobart in both seasons, with last year's coming in a 4OT marathon. The difference this year is that the Colonels will be able to play the quarterfinals in the friendly confines of their home arena the Canton Ice House. Tickets are already sold out, and there is expected to be over 1,000 fans in attendance for what is arguably the biggest game in Curry Athletics history.
The Continentals enter the game with a 21-6-1 record, having won the NESCAC Championship to earn their spot in the NCAA Tournament. They played last week against a familiar face to the Colonels in UNE, defeating the Nor'easters 4-2 in the opening round.
The Colonels and Continentals had four common opponents this season in Anna Maria, Trinity, Norwich, and UNE. The Continentals took on Anna Maria early in the season, beating them 5-1, while the Colonels took on the AMCATS after the new year, beating them 5-2. The Colonels took on Norwich in the second game of the season, beating the Cadets 3-0. The Continentals took on the Cadets in January defeating them 4-1.The Colonels also defeated Hamilton's conference rival Trinity 5-2. The Continentals on the other hand suffered an early season loss to the Bantams by a score of 3-2, before getting revenge late in the season with a 2-1 win. Perhaps the most relevant common opponent for the two school is Curry's fellow CNE school UNE. The Colonels went 2-1 on the season against the Nor'easters, splitting a pair of 2-1 games, and then beating UNE 4-3 at the end of the regular season. Hamilto, again, defeated UNE last week in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 4-2.
Saturday's matchup will also feature arguably the best two goalies in the country. The Colonels are led by Shane Soderwall who ranks fourth in the country with a 1.47 GAA, while Hamilton's Charlie Archer sits in third at 1.40. They are the only two goalies in the top nine who have played more than 900 minutes, with Archer playing 1,246, and Soderwall playing 1,509. Soderwall was recently named a finalist for the Sid Watson award, given to the best DII-III player in the country. Both goalies were named their respective conference's goalie of the year.
The Continentals are led by their own Sid Watson award finalist in Luke Tchor. He leads the team with 16 goals, and is second in assists with 17.
There is a good chance that the winner of this game will be determined early, as the two teams have played a combined 55 games this season, and the team that has scored first in those 55 games is 51-3-1. The Colonels went 23-0 when they scored first this season, with all three of their losses coming in games where they fell behind after the first goal. The Colonels were 1-3-0 on the season when conceding the first goal, with the lone win coming in a 5-1 win against JWU. The Continentals on the other hand have conceded the first goal seven times, going 2-4-1. One of those wins came in their NCAA Tournament game last week against UNE.
The Continentals set a team record with their 21st win of the season, while the Colonels 24 wins currently is tied for the second most with three other seasons. The only team to win more is the 1987-1988 team that won 26.
The Colonels and Continentals have faced off three times, with the last coming in 2012. That was the second straight year the two teams faced off on New Years Eve. The Continentals won both of those end of year matchups, beating Curry 6-5 in OT in Canton in 2011, and then 2-0 in 2012 up in New York. The first meeting between the two teams came in November of 2007, on neutral ice. The Colonels came up with the win in that game, winning 3-1.
Tickets for the game are sold out, but the first 300 Curry College students with ID will be allowed in the rink.
For those unable to attend, the stream of the game can be found HERE
To watch WHDH 7News Boston's piece on the Colonels from earlier this week, click HERE
