The loss to the St. Anselm Hawks was particularly devastating. Amherst carried a 2-1 lead into the third period behind goals by forwards Roy Mabrey '05 and Scott Aldrich '05. Mabrey beat Hawks' goalie Jim Merola on a short-handed breakaway with a high wrist shot early in the second period. Aldrich beat Merola on a rebound with 15 seconds left in the second period to give Amherst the lead heading into the second intermission.
The Jeffs' edge would not last, as 12 minutes into the third period the Hawks tied the score with a power play goal by Mike Aylward. St. Anselm went ahead for good 31 seconds later on a goal by Mike Curtis. The Jeffs played short handed for much of the second and third periods, as they were called for five penalties compared to only one for the visiting Hawks. After being denied on their first four power play opportunities, Curtis capitalized on the Hawks' final power play to give St. Anselm a 3-2 victory.
The script was switched for Saturday's game against the New England College Pilgrims. NEC was penalized 14 times over the course of the contest. Amherst held a two-man advantage on two occasions in the second period. The Jeffs were unable to capitalize on any of these opportunities, finishing the game 0-12 in power play situations.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the second period, NEC scored the game-winner in a 4-3 short- handed situation when Adam Wallace took an Amherst turnover the length of the ice and beat first-year goalie Dan Smith. Amherst's lone goal was scored by forward AJ Greco '06 when he took a pass from linemate Steve Nelson '06 at center ice and beat Pilgrim goalie Michael Shimek.
Amherst plays Middlebury College on Friday, Feb. 6 and Little Three rival Williams College on Saturday, Feb. 7. The Middlebury Panthers are ranked third in the nation and sit atop the NESCAC with a 10-2 conference record and have won 11 of their last 12 games. They have won their last four games by a combined 24 goals, including a 7-1 drubbing of NEC. The Panthers are led by reigning NESCAC Player of the Week Kevin Cooper, who recently became Middlebury's all-time leading scorer with 82 career goals. He also leads the NESCAC in points and goals with 29 and 18 respectively.
The Williams Ephs should also be a formidable challenge on the road on Saturday. Williams is currently in second place in the NESCAC, though the Ephs have had recent trouble, losing three of their last four games, including blowouts against St. Anselm and NEC.
Good performances this weekend should return Amherst to its winning ways against these two NESCAC rivals.