The Colby Echo

Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Rob Kievit Two Mules fight for the puck as Patrick Rutherford '07 looks on. [Click to enlarge]

New England Small College Athletic Conference men's ice hockey playoffs began last weekend, with the third seeded Mules bringing a quarterfinal game to the Alfond Rink. The home crowd of 1,100 was not disappointed, as Colby delivered a resounding 5-1 victory over the sixth seeded Camels of Connecticut College.

Josh Reber '08 opened the scoring, with two goals within two minutes halfway through the first period, and Colby never looked back from there. Reber would add two more assists before the end of the game. The other goals were scored by Joe Rothwell '08, team Captain Greg Osborne '07 and Ryan Chrenek '08. Goaltender Ben Grandjean '07 saved 27 of the 28 shots he faced. The victory was the 30th of his Colby career.

The victory sends Colby to the NESCAC final four for the sixth time in the eight years that the NESCAC tournament has existed. But in those six trips, Colby has yet to move into the conference championship game. Standing between the Mules and the elusive conference championship game this year are the second seeded Middlebury Panthers, who have won six of the seven NESCAC championships. The last time Colby made the NESCAC final four was in 2005, and just like this year, it was third seeded Colby against second seeded Middlebury. Middlebury won that game 4-1. The last time the two teams met, earlier this season, Colby rallied late from a 4-1 deficit and pulled out a spectacular 5-4 overtime victory. "It's all in how you present it, we can't make this bigger than it really is. It's just a hockey game, that's all it is, a game against a team we have played before. It has an external component that other people make, the media, the fans, but for our players, it's just another game. All you can ask for the players who have been playing best, Reber, Osborne, to keep playing the way they have, and for the role players to play at the same high level they have played all season," Head Coach Jim Tortorella said.

In other NESCAC quarterfinal action, first seeded Bowdoin College defeated eighth seeded Trinity College 7-3, second seeded Middlebury defeated seventh seeded Williams College 5-1, and fifth seeded Amherst College, the lone visiting team to win, defeated fourth seeded Wesleyan University 2-0.

Bowdoin, as the highest remaining seed, secured the right to host the NESCAC championship weekend, with the semifinals, Colby vs. Middlebury and Bowdoin vs. Amherst, on Saturday, March 3. Colby plays at 4:00 p.m. The winners of those two games will play in the NESCAC championship, Sunday, March 4 at Bowdoin at 1:00 p.m. "When you reach something like the final four, where the tournament is held can be a factor. Being able to get on a bus at one o'clock to play a game the same day, not spending the night in a hotel, not eating different food, makes the team more comfortable. Psychologically, it's a big difference from leaving the night before," Tortorella said.

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