The Jeffs had a week-and-a-half to rest and prepare for their first round game against the Continentals. Amherst wrapped up conference play on Feb. 17 with a victory over Connecticut College, giving the Jeffs 14 points and temporary possession of fourth place in the standings. But Hamilton, which at that time had only 10 points, won its final two games of the regular season to tie Amherst for fourth place. Even though Amherst and Hamilton had split their season series (the two games were played way back in November), the Continentals held the tiebreaker and earned the ever-important home-ice advantage in the first round.
Hamilton started strong in front of the home crowd. Despite being outshot 13-5 in the first period, the Continentals scored two goals in the opening frame to seize the lead heading into the locker room. Whatever Head Coach Jim Plumer said during the intermission worked, as defender Rachel Simon '07 scored her 14th goal of the year just 50 seconds into the second stanza to make it a 2-1 game. Forward Renee Sisti '06 and defender Sarah Mason '05 picked up the assists on the goal.
But that was as close as Amherst would get. Hamilton tallied a goal within two minutes of the Simon strike to reclaim its two-goal lead. The Continentals then added two more scores before the second intermission and another one afterward to seal the 6-1 playoff win. Caitlin Connelly got the win between the pipes for Hamilton, making 23 saves and allowing just one goal. Rookie goaltender Lindsay Grabowski took the loss for Amherst, making 26 saves along the way.
"It wasn't our best performance of the year," said senior co-captain Amanda Muller. "We played a good game, but it wasn't the great game that we needed in order to go to the final four."
For Amherst, it was a disappointing end to an outstanding season. Amherst finished the year at 13-12, shattering the old school mark for wins in a season (10) and advancing to the NESCAC playoffs for the third consecutive year. Amherst set a new standard for winning this year, and established this young team as a contender for years to come.
The class of 2007 distinguished itself this year on both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice. After losing four-year starting goalie Heidi Alexander '03 to graduation, Amherst had some question marks in goal heading into the season. Grabowski answered those questions emphatically. The rookie goaltender played in every game for the Jeffs, turning aside 592 of the 680 shots she saw en route to a 13-12 record. She also spent just three minutes and 23 seconds all year on the bench, and that was when coach Plumer pulled her for an extra skater.
Helping Grabowski keep the puck out of the Amherst net was defender Rachel Simon '07. This rookie blue-liner played strong defense in front of the goal and also jumped into the offense on occasion, tying Sisti for the team lead in goals and finishing third on the team in overall scoring. Other first-year contributors included forward Alena Harrison and defender Meghan Dickoff, the fourth- and fifth-leading scorers for Amherst, respectively.
The veterans also kept up their end of the bargain. Sisti led all scorers with 26 points on 14 goals and 12 assists. Forward Ali White '04 netted 11 goals and added 12 assists of her own in her final year, making her the team's second-leading scorer. For White, it was an excellent ending to an outstanding career. She finishes her four years with the Jeffs with 45 points on 24 goals and 21 assists.
White will not be the only graduating senior who will be missed. Co-captain forward Tori Serues '04 wrapped up her four years with 12 points in her senior campaign, giving her 29 for her career. Co-captain defender Amanda Muller '04 patrolled the blue line for the final time this year, registering three assists to boost her career points total to five. Defender Elissa Landes '04 finished her college career with 10 points, thanks to a pair of assists this season. And forward Katie Potter '04, who didn't see the ice this year due to an injury, will hang 'em up with six career points.
Even without the services of these five seniors, the future looks bright for coach Plumer and the rest of the Jeffs. Nine of Amherst's top 11 scorers this season were either first-years or sophomores, meaning the core of the offense will remain intact. And with Grabowski in net, Amherst will probably not have to think about goaltending again until 2007.
"We have a really strong group of freshmen who came in and really stepped up," said Muller. "We expect them to help shape the program." 2003-04 was a banner year for this program, but the future will only bring better tidings to the Amherst College women's hockey team.
In other playoff action, Middlebury breezed past Connecticut College 6-0 in Vermont and Williams College shut out Wesleyan University 8-0 in Williamstown. Now the Panthers, Ephs and Continentals will make their way northeast to Maine, where the Polar Bears of Bowdoin College will host the semifinals and finals this weekend.