HAMILTON HOCKEY’S HISTORIC SEASON

By Morgan Hodorowski ‘26

This season, Hamilton College’s Women’s Hockey team did something extraordinary; for the first time in school history, the Continentals reached the NCAA Tournament. After winning their first two games against Nazareth College and Adrian College, they lost to Amherst College in the Frozen Four. However, despite not making the championship, women’s hockey’s amazing run will definitely remain a highlight of Hamilton athletics.

The Continental: What’s your favorite memory from this season?

Abby Kuhns (Senior, Defense): My favorite memory from this season was our first-round NCAA game against Nazareth. The environment in the locker room before the game was confident and excited, the atmosphere in the rink was truly unforgettable, and the satisfaction of winning our last ever home game as a team (and a senior class) in front of a sold-out rink was a feeling we will never forget. It was everything you dream of as a kid when you imagine what your best hockey memory would one day look like.

Nancy Loh (Senior, Forward/Wing): My favorite memory from this season was our game versus Nazareth in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The rink was packed and the fans were awesome, and everyone on our team was so engaged and just enjoyed another opportunity to play hockey. Especially as a senior, this was an amazing last game in Sage Rink, and I will cherish that night forever.

The Continental: How do you feel about making Hamilton College history and appearing in the first NCAA tournament for Women’s Hockey?

Abby Smith (Junior, Forward/Wing): A huge goal of mine since entering college has been to make it to the NCAA tournament so I was excited to finally accomplish that. I am looking forward to spending time with my team and seeing how we can improve our team culture and game even more!

Kuhns: When you’re in the moment, an NCAA game feels like just another game in the season where you’re just trying to find a way to win, and every single person on our team brought this same mentality. Although many of us are disappointed that we did not win it all, looking back, it is clear that we had the experience of a lifetime. For the program, I am hopeful and excited to see what building the team’s reputation this past season will lead to in the next few years. It is a group and a coaching staff that has tremendous potential, and hopefully the team will only continue to make history and accomplish things the hockey program has never seen before.

Loh: While we were hoping to go all the way, it was an honor to represent Hamilton College in the NCAA tournament. The women’s hockey program has always been a very successful team at Hamilton, and our history-making season is a culmination of many years of hard work from the coaches, past players, and all of our supporters.

The Continental: How do you prepare for games? What is the team’s mentality?

Smith: I prepare for games by juggling with Claire ‘24 and listening to hype music. Our team’s mentality is to outwork our opponent and play fast.

The Continental: How do you feel the team grew as a community and family this season? How do you guys bond?

Smith: Our team was close since the beginning of the year, but got even closer over winter break when we had nothing to do but hang out and practice. We went out to eat together, watched movies, and played lots of games.

Loh: We did a couple team bonding exercises throughout our season, but a lot of the bonding on our team happens very naturally, such as spending time in the locker room before practice or sharing meals together in the dining hall. As much as our successes and winning brought us together and made us excited to keep playing together, I think the setbacks we experienced throughout the season are what really made us closer and stronger. We always found a way to come together and move forward in a positive direction either by having a team meeting or leaning on each other individually.

Kuhns: Something that is unique to hockey and winter sports is that we spend Thanksgiving, a majority of winter break, and even a week of spring break on campus, giving us a lot of time to spend with just our team. Our team jumped at most opportunities to spend time together and always found a way to make the most of long bus rides, weekend trips, and even some of our hardest practices—there was always someone there to lean on and pick you back up.

The Continental: Describe your experience this season in one word:

Smith: Electric.

Loh and Kuhns: Unforgettable.

Hamilton’s HEAT has evolved to be one of the more serious dance groups on campus. The group has 19 dancers ranging in dance backgrounds. Not too long ago, they were known as the “booty call group” given their main performance venue was parties in the Annex. In 2019, HEAT captains wanted to establish HEAT as a serious dance group. The captains actively reached out to coaches and faculty to perform at athletic events, which led to their first invitation to Class and Charter (C&C) Day.

The group’s style mainly involves hip-hop dances, but they also draw upon members’ cultures and experiences to choreograph their performances. Taylor Scatliffe ‘25 joined HEAT her first year after watching online videos. She has enjoyed her experience working with people on the team. “Not a lot of people specifically concentrated on hip-hop, so it’s fun for everyone to learn,” said Scatliffe. Makenna Thomas (Co-Chair/ Captain) ’25 shared that sentiment stating, “People who are classically trained can learn from people who aren’t.” Scatliffe and Thomas have backgrounds in dance and have been competitive dancers since early on, but they both feel there is something to learn for everyone.

As a member, Scatliffe claims that her commitment to HEAT involves 4-5 hours of weekly practices and additional practices outside of the group to rehearse the performances. Captains have an additional threehour “Captain’s Practice” where they choreograph numbers. “For those with leadership positions, [the commitment] goes up a lot… I usually come an hour before practice to answer any questions… including paperwork, I usually spend upwards of 10 hours a week on HEAT,” said senior Reagan Flores ‘23. She is also the vice president of the Student Dance Alliance (SDA), which brings resources and opportunities to other dance groups on campus.

Since Flores is a senior, she has seen dance culture evolve over the years, especially