After going undefeated in conference play and posting a 20-3-4 regular season record, the Jeffs prepared to defend their NESCAC title with confidence, but also anticipated the close games they had grown accustomed to battling out in the conference tournament. This year, the games were not as close, but the outcome was the same, as the Jeffs claimed the conference title once again.
After dismantling Bowdoin College 5-1 in the NESCAC quarterfinals the week before, the second-seeded Jeffs headed to Middlebury College, the host of the NESCAC Final Four. In the semifinal round, Amherst faced third-seeded Trinity College while Middlebury squared off with the number four seed, Colby College. Amherst and Middlebury tied each other twice in the regular season, as both teams posted undefeated NESCAC records, and another epic NESCAC championship game between the two squads seemed inevitable.
Yet, it was not meant to be. Before the Amherst team even stepped onto the ice, Colby upset the Panthers with a 5-on-3 power play goal in the extra session. With the 3-2 win, Colby earned a spot in the NESCAC final game for the first time in program history.
“I think most of our team was watching the overtime of the Middlebury-Colby game while we were warming up and stretching,” said sophomore forward Kate Dennett. “It was unreal when Colby scored that goal, and it brought me back to last year when we were the team scoring against Middlebury at their arena in overtime to knock them out of the tournament.”
Though Colby electrified Kenyon Arena with a gutsy semifinal win, the Jeffs forced themselves to focus on their own game against a tough Trinity opponent. “We were expecting a set of hard-fought games, and we were prepared to take it one game at a time,” said goalie Krystyn Elek ’10. “We weren’t looking past Trinity; we knew they have a tough goalie and that we had to focus on winning our first game before we could even think about the championship.”
The Jeffs did not have a lot to work with as they were preparing for the Bantams. The last time Amherst and Trinity met was in a home-and-home series in the second weekend of the season. Amherst took the series 1-0-1. “It made it interesting not to have seen them for so long,” said Head Coach Jim Plumer. “It can be deceiving watching video from three months ago.”
One thing the Jeffs were aware of was Trinity’s goalie Isabel Iwachiw, who was recently named First Team All-NESCAC. Nevertheless, Amherst found a way past Trinity’s star player with 5:04 left in the first period. First-year Courtney Hanlon scored on her own rebound, with forwards Lindsey Harrington ’09 and Molly Malloy ’10 picking up assists.
Luck was on Amherst’s side 6:23 into the second period. Defenseman Alyssa Chwick ’10 sent the puck toward the goal, and it was tipped by first-year forward CC Wyshnytzky. Iwachiw never saw the deflection, which put Amherst up 2-0. Wyshnytzky’s goal proved to be the game-winner as Trinity tallied their one and only goal over halfway through the second period. Though the intensity never faded in the game, Elek and Iwachiw each posted shutouts in the third period.
“I thought it was going to be a one-goal game and that we would need to score a couple,” said Plumer. “They weren’t exactly highlight-reel goals, but they went in.”
The win gave Amherst the chance to defend its NESCAC title on Sunday, though the opponent was unexpected. “We knew we had to respect Colby as worthy opponents,” said Hanlon, “so our preparation for Colby was no different than if we had been playing Middlebury.”
Against Colby, the Jeffs ran into another hot goaltender, as Lacey Brown posted 46 saves in the White Mules’ win over Middlebury the previous day. The Jeffs got on the scoreboard in the first period as Harrington scored off a rebound. Defenseman Julia Koch ’11 and Chwick assisted on the play. Late in the first, an unassisted power-play goal tied it up for Colby, and the score remained 1-1 at the end of the first period.
“I remember in the locker room after the first period, our general attitude wasn’t much of worry or concern, but of excitement,” said Wyshnytzky. “We were excited to get back out there and prove to Colby that we were better than them.”
Initially, it seemed like Colby was prepared to take over, as the White Mules applied steady pressure for the first minute and a half of the period. But that quickly changed when sophomore forward Michelle McGann fired a wrist shot over Brown’s glove and into the goal. That seemed to open the flood gates, and Amherst didn’t look back. Harrington added her second goal of the game four minutes later and the rout was on.
At the 12:55 mark of the second period, Dennett intercepted a pass in the offensive zone and beat Brown to the top right corner for a short-handed tally. The goal, Amherst’s fourth of the game, chased Brown to the bench in favor of Genevieve Triganne.
The Amherst power play unit also found its way into the box score. The Jeffs began the third period with a man-advantage for 51 seconds. They only needed 13. “We drew up play before the third period and it worked perfectly,” said Plumer of Hanlon’s goal that put Amherst up 5-1. “That’s not something that happens very often.”
As the third period wound down, Amherst tacked on two more goals. Forward Anna MacLean ’09 scored unassisted at 17:25. Less than a minute later co-captain forward Meg Quinn ’08 took off on a breakaway with Campbell a pace behind. Campbell deposited Quinn’s pass into the goal to cap the scoring at 7-1.
As the NESCAC Champion, Amherst earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III Tournament and the right to host an NCAA game for the first time in program history. They will face Elmira College Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. In the previous meeting between the two teams this year, Amherst defeated Elmira 3-2. Currently, Amherst is ranked third nationally—their highest ranking ever—while Elmira is one spot back, ranked fourth.
“The key this weekend is to make sure we are not too nervous and not too tight,” revealed Plumer. “It is so much fun to be playing in these meaningful games. My job is to not make this different from anything else we do.”