In their first game of the weekend the Jeffs escaped from New England College with a 5-3 victory.
Tri-captain Chris Orszulak '01 scored the go-ahead goal with only a minute and a half left in the game. Darren Reaume '02, last week's NESCAC Player of the Week, started the play with a steal at center ice, and Orszulak converted the goal with assists going to Bob Miele '02 and Tri-captain Gregg DiNardo '01.
The Jeffs came out of the gate strong in the first period, scoring two goals to take the early lead. Stephen Tornabene '01 opened the scoring for the Jeffs late in the first period. On a power play Tornabene took the feed from Orszulak and put the puck past NE College goalie Ryan Thomson.
Jim Smith '01 netted the Jeffs' second goal just 42 seconds later. With the two teams back at even strength, Miele and DiNardo were credited with assists on the play.
In the second period the Pilgrims came back and took the lead from the Jeffs with three unanswered goals in the first five minutes of the period.
"We weren't playing well against NE College early in the game," said Reaume.
Ralph Aiello netted the first Pilgrim goal just 2:26 into the second frame and Matt Stack added two more goals in the next two minutes. Mike Johnson was credited with the assist on both goals by Stack.
"We haven't played up to our potential," said Reaume. "Luckily we have been able to turn it on later in the game, but we can play a full game like we have been playing in the third period."
In the third period the Jeffs regained control of the game. With just over nine minutes remaining in the game, Erik DiNardo '03 scored the equalizing goal. Line-mates Justin Pitrack '03 and Reaume assisted on the goal.
After Orszulak netted the game winner, Rob Hill '01 scored an empty net goal in the final seconds to finish the scoring. Amherst goalie Nick Rieser '01 had 38 saves in the win.
The next day the Jeffs had to battle again to take a 4-2 win from the St. Anselm's College Hawks. As in their game the night before, the Jeffs tallied the first goal. Erik DiNardo started the scoring late in the first period, when he beat Hawk goalie Andrew Zoppo after a pass from Erich Schram '03.
With eerie similarity to the previous game the Jeffs lost the lead in the second period. Michael Martiniello scored on the power play for the Hawks, and just over two minutes later, Ryan Nolin scored a short-handed goal to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.
"We didn't panic in either game last weekend," said Orszulak. "We knew that it was just going to be a matter of time before we scored."
Again, the Jeffs rallied in the final frame, scoring three goals to take the win. Smith opened the scoring with an unassisted goal six minutes into the period, to tie the game.
For most of the period neither team was able to take the lead, but with 12.7 seconds left in the game Greg Carr '02 scored the game winner. Carr took a pass from Gregg DiNardo and sent a wrist shot past Zoppo. Smith added his second unassisted goal of the frame with just 0.4 seconds left, after the Hawks pulled their goalie.
"We tend to play four lines while other teams play three, and we wear them down by the third period," said Orszulak. "Our team is in good shape because of the work that we put in over the off season, and it shows in the third period."
Justin Jagher '03 made his first start of the season and had 37 saves, as the Jeffs took their fifth straight game.
Last night, the squad travelled to Wentworth College and came away with the 7-1 win in a game that took place too late for this edition.
The Jeffs return to action this Saturday when they will travel to Plattsburgh College for what should prove to be a very difficult away game. Plattsburgh entered the season ranked first in the country in the United States College Hockey Organization [USCHO] poll and is regarded as one of the best teams in the country.
Making the trip to Plattsburgh even more difficult is the atmosphere in which the games are played. The arena generally sells out, and the crowd gives Plattsburgh a large home ice advantage. "Plattsburgh will be by far the best team we have faced," said Orszulak. "They are a great offensive team."
Reaume agreed with Orszulak. "Plattsburgh is an older team, and they play very physically," he said. "We need to cut down on our mistakes because they are one of the most talented teams in the country."