Jason Brochu ’19 scored three goals and added an assist for a career-high four points in No. 11/13 Hamilton College men’s hockey 5-1 win over Bowdoin College on Saturday afternoon in Brunswick, Maine.
The Continentals (9-2-1, 4-2-1 NESCAC) return from their Maine road trip with two NESCAC victories and six straight wins. Bowdoin (4-8 overall) falls to 2-6 in the conference and has lost the last three games, all to NESCAC opponents.
Hamilton got on the scoreboard just 1:11 into the game. Sean Allen ’21 took a shot from the left side and rang the puck off the far post. His shot ricocheted back to Brochu for an easy put back. Neil Conway ’18 doubled the Hamilton lead six minutes later. Rory Gagnon ’19 won the faceoff at the right circle and found Brochu who passed to Conway for a one-timer inside the left pipe.
Bowdoin cut the lead in half exactly one minute later. As Hamilton looked to clear the zone, Sam Topham corralled the puck at the blue line and fired a shot through traffic just underneath the crossbar.
Following a scrum in front of Hamilton’s net, Evan Buitenhuis ’18 left the game with an injury 13:25 into the contest. Buitenhuis made eight stops before being relieved by Anthony Tirabassi ’20 who preserved the win with nine saves.
Hamilton had a 2-1 lead to start the second period and went on to score three unanswered through the final two periods.
T.J. Daigler ’18 poked the puck away from the Bowdoin defenseman at Hamilton’s blue line for a 2-on-1 situation. Daigler took the puck into the Bowdoin zone and clanked the puck off the far left post into the goal. Midway through the second period, Brochu and Conway connected for another goal. Conway won the faceoff by placing the puck through the legs of Bowdoin’s Matthew Lison. Conway moved around Lison and centered the puck to Brochu for a one-timer past Peter Cronin (31 saves), increasing Hamilton’s lead to 4-1 after the second.
With four skaters on the ice for both teams 5:44 into the third period, Allen cleared the puck out of the Continental territory into the neutral zone. Brochu sped past the Bowdoin defense and completed the hat trick with a breakaway effort.
Hamilton is back on the road for two NESCAC games next weekend. The Continentals face Conn. College on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. and Tufts University on Sunday at 4 p.m.
