After winning the Northfield Savings Bank Tournament hosted by Norwich with wins over Plymouth State and the host school just after the New Year, the Hamilton Continentals are nationally ranked in the top ten and are looking to make a strong run for a NESCAC title with only conference games remaining on their schedule.
“We have everything working well right now,” said head coach Rob Haberbusch. “We have a really deep team – the deepest certainly since I have been here, and it is a very talented group offensively. Our puck possession numbers are high, and this group is highly creative with the puck on their stick. We have given the group a lot of freedom offensively but not without their accountability for the defensive side of the game. Every game there are different guys stepping up on the scoresheet and that depth has been a big part of our success.”
Anchoring the Continentals on the back end has been senior goaltender Charlie Archer. In seven starts this season, Archer has a 1.30 goals-against average; .943 save percentage; a 6-1-0 record and two shutouts. During the NSB Tournament at Norwich Archer backstopped both wins surrendering just a single goal and stopping 36 of 37 shots in the two games that earned him tournament MVP honors.
“Charlie is not what you see in a lot of goaltenders in terms of being on the small or lean and light side,” stated Haberbusch. “He is the most physically strong netminder I think we have had during my time at Hamilton. He is in the weight room with the big boys and is in the top five for all lifts on the team. He takes great care and pride in his physical capabilities and as a psych major, is very comfortable in his own skin. He is a very self-assured kid and ready for the grind which we have coming up for the remainder of the season and our league schedule.”
One of the quirks of this year’s season starting a week later than usual is that the number of games played in conference in the first half of the season is a bit lighter than past years. To date the Continentals are just 4-1-0 in five league contests and face playing six of their next seven games on the road with their longest road trip on tap for the upcoming weekend against Bowdoin and Colby.
”It is not a cliché that anyone in our league can beat any other team as it happens quite frequently,” said Haberbusch. “We are not taking anyone for granted. Colby had a big win against UNE last night, but we are just focused on Friday and Bowdoin. Six of our next seven games are on the road which I kind of like. It is good to be away when the students are not on campus, and we are not playing in a mostly empty rink. When classes resume later this month we are back home, and it gives our players the opportunity to get settled into the academics and the hockey without the travel. It may be different next year, but I am liking this year’s schedule as it lays out.”
While everything has been clicking pretty well for Hamilton, one area of focus in the remainder of the season is going to be improved penalty kill efficiency. The power play has been very strong with a lot of different players chipping in with goals, but the penalty kill is an area of focus.
“We have two strong groups on the power play,” said Haberbusch. “We have been focusing on the penalty kill and think we will be better there for our upcoming schedule. There were some things we wanted to clean up before the tournament at Norwich and I thought the team did an excellent job on those things. It will be the same on the penalty kill and maybe including some players that have definitely proven themselves in the first half like two of our shutdown defensemen, Sebastien Hamming and John Wociechowski. They have developed quite well on the defensive end and certainly could be a factor on the penalty kill.”
The Continentals will see several teams for the first time this season in NESCAC action starting with the Maine trip this weekend and followed by games against Connecticut College and Tufts. They return home for a single game against travel partner Amherst before closing out the month on the road against Wesleyan and defending champions Trinity.
“You don’t get any trophies for being ranked,” stated Haberbusch. “There are not any NCAA bids that come with being in the poll. We will stay focused each day and look to build on what has helped us be successful so far this season with a lot of hockey yet to play.”
