The men’s hockey team traveled to Amherst on Saturday, well aware of the looming and somewhat daunting task of back-to-back NESCAC road games—in under 24 hours no less. After a deflating loss to the Lord Jeffs by a score of 3-2, the Cardinals packed up on Sunday and traveled to Clinton, NY to take on the Hamilton Continentals.

In just over four minutes, the tone of the Cardinals’ weekend shifted dramatically. Trailing two goals with less than five minutes to play, the situation had all the makings of another forgettable weekend. But a timely goal from Adam Kaiser ’13 with 4:01 remaining in the final period propelled Wesleyan to what became undoubtedly their best win of the season.

Up 1-0 to begin the third period, the Cardinals found themselves down two after a power play goal and an even strength score by the Continentals a mere ten seconds later. Following these two quick scores, Hamilton netted yet another goal, and after conceding three unanswered goals, the Cardinals called a timeout following a Hamilton slashing penalty. This man-up advantage provided the Cardinals with an opportunity to right the ship, and Kaiser did just that as he netted a wrist shot after receiving a nice setup from winger Keith Buehler ’14. Down 3-2 with with time winding down, Wesleyan was forced to pull goalie Glenn Stowell ’13 in favor of an extra skater on the ice.

With only :20 left on the clock, Donald Kleckner ’13 found himself on the receiving end of a great pass from linemate Ryan White ’13. Kleckner coolly one-timed the shot past the Hamilton netminder and sent the game into overtime.

In the extra stanza, Wesleyan seemed to have control and momentum from the get-go. John Guay ’13 was clutch in winning a faceoff in Hamilton’s defensive end, and sent it back to blueliner William Choi ’13 who rifled in a goal from the right point. Particular recognition should also go to Stowell and to Nik Tasiopoulos ’14, both of whom were crucial in keeping Wesleyan within striking distance. Tasiopoulos scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season in the match, and Stowell came up huge in net to keep the game close late in the third.

Choi’s goal just 2:13 into the overtime period culminated in an incredible comeback that made the weekend worthwhile. The night before in Amherst, Wesleyan was down 3-1 late in the third, in the same situation they were at Hamilton. However, after a late goal from Buehler to cut the score to 3-2, Wesleyan simply did not have enough time to make a comeback.

This was not the case on Sunday. The Cardinals demonstrated their willingness to fight until the final seconds and reaped the rewards for their efforts. Time will tell the significance of the game against Hamilton, but without a doubt, this past Sunday bodes well for the men’s hockey season.

Wesleyan moved to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in NESCAC. Their next  game will be at home, against Manhattanville College on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. The non-conference game will be their last before a three-week layoff for Winter Break.