SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.— Hamilton College saw four different players score on the way to a 4-1 win over Skidmore College in the Skidmore Thanksgiving Invitational Tournament championship game.
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The Thoroughbreds are 1-7-1, while the 10
th ranked Continentals are off to a 3-0-1 start. The teams play each other two more times with a home-and-home series Dec. 30 in Saratoga and Dec. 31 in Clinton.
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Fredonia beat Canton 5-4 in overtime to take third place.
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Hamilton opened the scoring at 4:36 of the first when Brandon Willett put home a rebound of a Nick Ursitti shot. Bennett Morrison had the second assist. Skidmore tied it when
Matt Muzyka took a cross ice pass from
Corey Morgan and went top shelf stick side on Hamilton goalie Evan Buitenhuis at 12:03. The Continentals made it 2-1 when tournament MVP Rory Gagnon scored from in front with Neil Conway and Jason Brochu assisting at 16:33.
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Tyler Bruneteau scored the lone goal of the second period on a one-timer to the back post. Conway and Brochu assisted. Skidmore had a 1:45 5-on-3 late in the second period, but Buitenhuis stopped four shots to keep it 3-1.
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Conway added an empty netter at 18:54 for the 4-1 final.
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Skidmore had a 36-32 shot advantage. Brendan Kasel stopped 28 of 31 shots he faced for the Thoroughbreds. Buitenhuis had 35 saves for the Continentals.
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Muzyka and
Tim Allen represented Skidmore on the All-Tournament team. Joining the Thoroughbred pair were Hamilton's Gagnon (MVP), Buitenhuis, and Anthony Tirabassi, along with Joe Deveny of Canton and Bobby Polachek of Fredonia.
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Skidmore returns to NEHC action Friday night at home against Hobart. The 7 p.m. start will feature the team's annual Toys for Toga charity drive and the 2017 version of the Ugly Jersey Auction.
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CONSOLATION GAME
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Fredonia's Bobby Polachek tied the game late and then scored the overtime winner to lead the 4-4-1 Blue Devils to a 5-4 win over Canton (2-5) in the third place game.
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In addition to Polachek, Jimmy Morgan and Sam Wilbur scored. Wilbur added an assist, while Jacob Hynes had two helpers. Eric Bogart had 41 saves, including three in overtime.
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Joe Deveny had the hat trick for Canton. Vili-Jesper Koivula had a goal and an assist. Michael Cerasuolo had 28 saves.
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