In their first game of the weekend on Friday night, the Jeffs took on Bowdoin College, ranked 12th in the country and fourth in the conference. The Polar Bears knocked the Jeffs out of the NESCAC playoffs last season in the first round, so the Jeffs had revenge on their minds when the Bears came to town.
Bowdoin jumped to a quick two-goal lead, scoring the first goal just 17 seconds into the first period. Adam Dann scored his first of two goals in the game and the Bears added a second goal less than seven minutes later when Adam Mackie found the net.
However, the Jeffs came back quickly. The first Amherst goal came on a power play 10:43 into the period, when Scott Aldrich '05 tallied his 10th goal of the season. Mike Kreger '04 and John McNicholas '04 added assists on the play.
The second Jeff goal came with just 28 seconds remaining in the period. Beau Kretzman '05 carried the puck up the right side of the ice into the offensive zone where he dropped a pass back to Erik DiNardo '03, who was streaking past the blue line. DiNardo buried the puck in the back of the net and the game was tied heading into the first intermission.
Dann returned Bowdoin the lead with another goal midway through the second period, but again the Jeffs were able to notch a power play goal, this time to tie the game. Kreger potted the goal on assists from Kretzman and McNicholas with just 10 seconds remaining in the period. The goal was Kreger's 10th of the season.
The third period followed a similar storyline, as the Bears took the lead again before the Jeffs tied it up with little time to spare. Sean Starke put the Bears ahead but Thierry Pauyo '05 tallied the equalizer with 5:02 remaining in regulation. Although both teams had good chances to end the game in the remaining five minutes, neither was able to score and the game headed into overtime.
In the extra period the Jeffs survived a scare to come away with a hard-fought tie. With just seconds remaining, a wild Bowdoin shot caromed in front of the net, and after a wild scrum, goalie Sean Lynch '06 was able to cover the puck. Captain Erich Schram '03 and Bowdoin's Chris Pelletier both received roughing penalties in the melee, but with only a single second remaining, neither team was able to score a game-winning goal.
Lynch ended the game with 33 saves as the Jeffs extended their unbeaten streak to six games, with a 3-0-3 record in those matches.
"All of our games of late have been team efforts. Everyone's been contributing, which is one of the reasons we've been playing so well," said Jon Hill '05.
The next afternoon the Jeffs faced another difficult challenge. Colby College, ranked eighth nationally, had just been humiliated by Hamilton College the previous evening in an 8-1 loss. They came into Orr Rink fired up and looking for a victory to take into postseason play. However, the Jeffs shared the desire to end the regular season on a high note.
The first two periods showcased an evenly-played game with the Mules taking an early lead with just over a minute remaining in the first period. Cory Ernst scored his 13th goal of the season to put Colby on top. The second period saw a lacking offense as the two teams totaled only 11 shots combined and were both unable to find the back of the net.
Although Amherst played well in the first two periods, Colby improved its play in the final frame and blitzed the Jeff defense for four goals. Nick Bayley tallied the first two goals of the period, Kevin Lyons added one and Ernst tallied his second of the game to sink the Jeffs for good. Amherst was unable to answer with goals of their own during the period, and they ended up on the wrong side of a 5-0 decision.
With the regular season over, the Jeffs now face a difficult challenge in the playoffs. As the sixth seed, Amherst has to travel to the third-seeded team's home rink for next weekend's action. Unfortunately, the third seed happens to be Colby. Despite relatively even play this past weekend, the lopsided loss will make it difficult for the Jeffs to go on the road and turn the tables on the Mules.
However, the Jeffs believe that a victory remains a very real possibility. "The coaches have been watching the films of the game against Colby and making adjustments, so we'll be able to gear our game towards beating them," said Hill.