term, the Jeffs battled top-notched competition-preseason number one Plattsburgh State College, defending national champion Norwich University and five-time national champion Middlebury College-and although they were unable to take home a win in any of the contests, they did play well.
Against Norwich on Saturday, Jan. 6, Amherst battled to a 4-4 tie. Jon Bokelmann scored 3:25 into the first period to give Norwich the early lead, but the Jeffs quickly answered and took a 2-1 lead into the second frame. Rob Hill '02 scored the first goal for the Jeffs just under three minutes later, with the assist going to Tri-captain Chris Orszulak '01. The second Jeff goal came with 31 seconds left in the period as Josh Hoffman '04 netted the goal and Jim Smith '01 and Brett Farson '03 had the assists.
In the second period, Norwich evened the game up on a goal from Matt Schmidt. Amherst scored the next two goals, increasing their lead to 4-2. Greg Carr '02 netted the third goal of the contest off of an assist from John McNicholas '04 with eight minutes remaining in the second period.
Smith scored the Jeffs' final goal of the game seven minutes into the third period, with assists going to Erik DiNardo '03 and Justin Pitrack '03.
Unfortunately, Amherst was unable to hold off their competition in the final period, and Norwich was able to tie the game in regulation. In overtime Norwich put six shots on net-the Jeffs only had two-but neither team was able to convert on their scoring chances.
In regulation and overtime the Norwich offense unleashed a barrage of shots on goalie Nick Rieser '01, and he made an astounding 50 saves in the combination of regulation and overtime.
"We have had some struggles on defense this year," said Rieser. "The season has been a progression, and we are really just putting it together now."
The night before, the Jeffs faced powerhouse Middlebury College. The game remained close until the third period when Middlebury took advantage of a power play situation to score a Panther goal. Again Rieser played well in net. In the three periods of play Rieser made a remarkable 35 saves against the Panther onslaught.
Against Plattsburgh the Jeffs suffered their most lopsided loss of the year, falling 4-0 in a tough road game.
The Jeffs played against Plattsburgh in a packed rink in front of a television audience, situations that make any game difficult.
In the first period the Jeffs fell behind 2-0 and they were never able to recover. Plattsburgh added a single goal in each of the next two periods to put the game away.
"We had four breakdowns in the game, and we weren't able to find the back of the net," said Rieser. "Even with the loss it was a good experience to play in that type of environment."
In another difficult challenge for the Jeffs they tied Trinity College, 2-2, on Jan. 13.
Trinity-always a tough competitor-was coming off of victories over Norwich and Middlebury, a feat that had not been accomplished by any team since 1996.
"There is no excuse for tying Trinity," said Rieser. "We just didn't get it done."
The Jeffs unleashed 58 shots at Trinity's goal, but only two of them found the back of the net.
After three ties in four games the Jeffs broke out of their slump and won their most recent games to end the Interterm campaign. Against Hamilton College the Jeffs romped to an 9-0 win. Bob Miele '02 broke out of a season-long goal scoring slump with a hat trick, with all three goals coming with a man advantage.
The next afternoon against Skidmore the Jeffs responded with another offensive outburst, winning by a final score of 8-2. Miele again led the way, scoring his second hat trick in as many games. Again Miele scored all three of his goals on the power play, and Smith assisted on each one.
"Getting Bob [Miele] out of his slump was important for us," said Rieser. "He has been our leading goal scorer the last two years, and it is important to get him going."
In their other action over the break, the Jeffs pasted both Fitchburg State College and Babson College, 8-2 and 6-2, respectively. Against Fitchburg the Jeffs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, and then they poured on six goals in the second period. Pitrack led the Jeffs with a hat trick while DiNardo had three assists.
The Jeffs amassed 56 shots in the game, but this time it was with much more success than against Trinity.
Against Babson the Jeffs were a model of efficiency, scoring on six of their 29 shots. Tri-captain Gregg DiNardo '01 led the Jeffs with two goals in the game.
This weekend the Jeffs leave the friendly confines of Orr Rink and travel to Salem Sate College and the University of Southern Maine for games. They look to continue their offensive hot streak and start February off on the right foot.
"February has been a tough month for us the last few years, but this year we are just hitting our stride now," said Rieser. "I don't see a slide happening this year."