Hockey teams enjoy strong weekend performances
Both the men and women experience program firsts

Charlie Donahue | staff writer

The St. Michael's College men's and women's ice hockey teams both enjoyed program firsts at home over the weekend. The men (2-3-1 overall) defeated Hamilton College, 6-4, on Saturday, Dec. 1 for the first time, while the women (2-1-1 overall) took care of UMass Boston, 6-3, on Friday, Nov. 30, the team's first win in nine chances against the Beacons.

Weekend success

The men's team began the weekend Friday night facing off against New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) powerhouse, Amherst College.  The Purple Knights took an early 3-0 lead, controlling the game with physical play.  Amherst was able to battle back though, and when the final buzzer sounded at the end of overtime, the scoreboard at Cairns Arena displayed a 4-4 tie.

St. Michael's junior goalie Tyler Bilton made 36 saves and senior captain Erik Caron of Kanata, Ontario led the team with a goal and two assists.  Matt Hall, Ryan Mero, and Matthew Rigtrup also tallied goals in the contest.

Senior Matt Hall scored a goal in both of the team's weekend games. Photo courtesy of Seth Cole

“We did a lot of the little things correctly tonight, which lead to our best overall game so far this season,”  Head Coach Chris Davidson says. "We played smart hockey tonight and in this league that’s what you need to do. The guys should be commended for playing extremely well.”

The team rode its momentum from the Amherst game into a Saturday afternoon matinee against Hamilton College.  For the third consecutive game, Caron scored a goal and added two assists. Hall netted his second goal in as many games on a top-shelf wrist shot, as Mero added two more goals to his weekend total. First-year goalie Brendan Rimmer made 19 saves on 23 shots. 

“Hopefully with this win we are turning some heads by beating Hamilton for the first time,” sophomore Alex Higgins says. "We hope to build upon this win and strive to do better and it will lead us in the right direction.”

The women’s team made some noise of its own at Cairns Arena on Friday night, conquering the UMass Boston Beacons in convincing fashion. Sophomore Meghan Sweezey had two power play goals, while senior Gabrielle Bourgeois and sophomore Kristi Reardon each posted a goal and two assists. Junior goaltender Melanie Cullen stopped 35 shots to earn the win.

"It's really exciting making program history beating UMass Boston, who is always tough,” senior captain Leslie Pomponi says. "The program has come a long way since my freshman year and it's exciting to see all our hard work is paying off now. I'm really proud of the way the team has played."

The Purple Knights suffered a tough 7-0 loss to St. Anselm College on Saturday.  The Hawks, who were ranked number one in the preseason coaches poll, peppered Cullen with 53 shots. 

Making progress

Davidson says that this year's men's team has a ton of heart and character.

Junior assistant captain John Burns anchors an experienced defensive core this season. Photo courtesy of Seth Cole

"Erik Caron, Matt Hall and Andrick Deppmeyer are three guys who are huge components of what our team is," he says.  ”Being seniors and leaders, I think they lay a good foundation for guys underneath them."

Davidson says assistant captains John Burns, Chris Healey and Dave Vorozilchak are character players and guys on the team feed off of their attitude. 

He acknowledges that the team lost some scoring due to the graduation of Jared Silver. This year, Davidson says he is looking for more balanced scoring, with different players contributing each night.

“We don't have a blue chip prospect that's going to score 50 goals, but we do have a lot of quality hockey players that can come up with a goal here and a goal there," Davidson says.

The women’s team is off to its best start in program history. Assistant coach Kristen Norris wrote in an e-mail that the team has already accomplished two first-time feats, beating UMass Boston and going undefeated in the first three games of the season. The team has 11 first-years, who Norris wrote are very talented, adding depth at every position.

Norris wrote that the team's incredible start can be attributed to the intense preseason workouts in the fall. 

"The team responded real well and I think they are starting to see their hard work pay off,” Norris wrote.  

Promising future

Davidson says Bilton is doing very well between the pipes right now and is only going to get better as the season goes on. Rimmer already has earned his first collegiate win and according to Davidson, will potentially see more time.

He says the defensive zone and attention to detail are going to be key aspects that the team must focus on in order to be successful.

The women's team has its own goals, one of which is to be the hardest working team in the league, Norris wrote. She added that the program has already made huge strides and she can only expect the team to progress further, lending the former University of Vermont standout to believe that another team goal, going .500 or better this season, is a real possibility.

"The first two weekends have shown a lot of promise for the rest of the season," she wrote.