Amherst opened its Interterm schedule with five consecutive games away from Orr Rink, but the trip was no vacation for the team. The first two games on the docket brought the Jeffs to Maine, one of the few places in America that has been colder than Massachusetts this winter. On Friday, Jan. 9, Amherst visited Bowdoin College before taking on Colby College the following day.
Amherst quickly found itself in a tough spot against Bowdoin, after Polar Bear Gillian McDonald found the back of the net just 31 seconds into the game. Things didn't get much better for the Jeffs, as the Polar Bears doubled their early lead just 51 seconds later with a goal from Meghan Gillis. By the time the night was over, Bowdoin bombarded Amherst goaltender Lindsay Grabowski '07 with 46 shots, 41 of which the rookie netminder successfully turned aside. The Jeffs, unfortunately, were unable to mount a considerable offense at the other end, registering just 13 shots and bowing to Bowdoin, 5-0.
Colby would prove a more gracious host than Bowdoin, as the Jeffs triumphed over the White Mules, 3-2. Amherst got out to the early lead in this one, thanks to first period goals from first-year forwards Rachel Simon and Alena Harrison. But Colby put up a fight and began to chip away at the cushion, cutting the Amherst lead in half in the second period before tying the game in the third. Undeterred, forward Renee Sisti '06 netted the game winner with just over two minutes to play. Netminder Grabowski made 25 stops in the game, including 12 in the final period.
After splitting the two conference games in Maine, the Jeffs took a pair of midweek games from two non-conference opponents. On Jan. 13, Amherst traveled to St. Michael's College and came away with a comfortable win by a final score of 6-3. Forward Leah Kaplan '06 got the game-winning goal early in the third period, as she squashed any chance of a Purple Knight comeback. Amherst registered a startling 68 shots in the game, including an impressive 28 in a two-goal second period.
Interterm's most dramatic moments came in the closing minutes of Amherst's Jan. 14 game at New England College. Down by a goal late in the third period, Amherst went on the power play after an NEC tripping penalty. With just 34 seconds left in the game, Renee Sisti beat NEC goalie Jacquelyn Parker to send the game into overtime. Halfway through the extra session, Sisti struck again, this time with the game-winner, to lift the Jeffs to the 3-2 overtime victory.
Sisti's heroics against New England College, in addition to two assists against St. Michael's earned her NESCAC Player of the Week honors. The goal that beat NEC was also Sisti's second game-winning goal of the year; she now holds the lead for the team in the category.
After a rare weekend off, the Jeffs traveled to New London, Conn. on Jan. 20 to close out their extended road trip against Connecticut College. The rival Camels unfortunately got the better of the Jeffs, and came away with a 4-3 victory. Amherst went into the third period down a goal, when forward Alison White '04 knotted the game at three just 2:46 into the frame. Conn struck back though, getting another goal a few minutes later and then managing to hang on for the win.
The Jeffs finally got a chance to catch their breaths and play a couple games at home in Orr Rink this past weekend. On Friday night Amherst hosted Colby, before doing battle with Bowdoin the following afternoon. Amherst continued its strong play by downing Colby 5-1, earning itself another crucial conference win. Unfortunately, the Jeffs couldn't defeat the Polar Bears at home and wound up losing to the conference's top team by a score of 4-1.
As the season winds to a close, conference play becomes even more important. Amherst, currently tied with Hamilton for the fifth spot in the conference standings, is just two points behind Wesleyan University (5-4 in NESCAC play). The battle for fourth place in the conference is critical, as the fourth seed in the conference tournament earns the honor of hosting a first-round playoff game. For Amherst, the road to fourth place will be difficult. The Jeffs have just five conference games remaining on their schedule, while the Continentals have six and the Cardinals seven. The Jeffs need to make up points, and fast, but they have a tough weekend ahead of them, visiting Williams and Middlebury Colleges. Both teams are 7-1 in NESCAC play. Amherst's best chance to secure a home playoff game is during the final week of the season, when the Jeffs host Trinity College, Wesleyan and Conn. A sweep of those games would certainly send Amherst back into the postseason, and might even earn them the coveted fourth seed.
Amherst, fortunately, has a number of offensive weapons to rely on as they make their playoff push. The Jeffs boast five skaters with double-digit point totals: White leads the team with 15, Sisti has 13, Harrison and Simon each have 12 and defender Meghan Dickoff '07 has 11 to her credit. The production is balanced and the bench is deep, both critical factors late in the season. The Jeffs' leaders are also young; six of their top seven scorers are in their first or second year on the team. All of these numbers indicate that the team is well-stocked as they try to advance to the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
Sisti has been particularly pleased with the team's improvement over the course of the campaign. "Our team has come a long way since the beginning of the season," she said. "Everything seems to be clicking and we're producing great results."
Amherst hosts the College of the Holy Cross tonight before beginning another five-game road trip this weekend. Amherst visits Williams on Friday, Middlebury on Saturday and Holy Cross on Tuesday.
Despite being outscored by Williams and Middlebury 15-1 this season, the team is still confident about their chances this weekend, and the rest of the season. "I am so thrilled with the level of play we've been showing and I know that if we keep it up, we will continue to outwork teams-even Williams and Middlebury," said Sisti. "Great things have been happening lately and I can only anticipate even greater things in our last leg of the season."