With few students to be found, Interterm typically brings a sense of tranquility to much of campus. Thankfully for the men's ice hockey team, such tranquility did not extend itself onto the ice of Orr Rink. The Lord Jeffs remained busy over the long break, winning five of seven and improving their record to 9-4-2 overall (7-2-2 ECAC East).

Without a doubt, the Jeffs' most impressive Interterm performance was their first game back on Jan 7 The squad went into West Hartford's famed Kingswood-Oxford Rink and defeated the previously unbeaten, eighth-ranked Trinity College Bantams in a come-from-behind win, 5-3. The Bantams jumped out to a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, but Amherst junior forward AJ Greco brought the Jeffs to within one before the end of the first period. Almost 20 minutes later, the Bantams responded with a goal to make the score 3-1. That goal was the final tally for the team from Hartford as the Jeffs scored the final four goals, the last coming on an open net.

The Jeffs' second goal came during a power play before the end of the second period. Senior co-captain Beau Kretzman beat both the Trinity defense and the clock to score his sixth goal of the season off assists from co-captain Jon Hill '05 and freshman defenseman Mike McIntosh. With the Jeffs controlling the puck for most of the third period, forward Thierry Pauyo '05 notched a goal to tie the score at 3-3. Less than five minutes later, senior forward Scott Aldrich, assisted by sophomore defenseman Trevor Calamel and senior forward Marc Russell, beat Bantam goaltender Douglas Kisieliusput to the upper-right corner of the goal.

Amherst's final tally of the game came when the Bantams pulled their goalie in a futile attempt for a tie. McIntosh put the puck in the empty net with just 31 seconds to play to secure the win.

"We knew we could play against them," said junior forward Jack Greeley. "We came out slow, but we came back. The third period was the best period of hockey we've played all year."

Though Amherst's offense was stellar in coming back to win, the real story of the game was the Lord Jeffs' dominating defense which answered the roosters' call, limiting Trinity to just four shots in the final period. Sophomore goaltender Josh Fillman dislocated his shoulder just minutes into the contest, but, without a proven back-up to replace him, played the whole game, making an astounding 32 saves.

"Trinity is a team we've been successful against in the past, so we're not scared of them," said junior forward Steve Nelson. "They're a fast-skating team, but we showed no quit." Sophomore defenseman Erik Lund added, "It was good to beat them in their own house."

Coach Jack Arena's squad followed up its huge win against Trinity with another road victory, this one over Little Three rival Wesleyan University on Jan. 8. Greco opened the scoring on a power-play goal assisted by Hill and Kretzman. Kretzman provided another assist when forward Kyle Schoppel '08 scored his eighth goal of the season to give the Jeffs a 2-0 lead. Just four minutes later, senior defender Bill Jenkins notched the game-winner, giving Amherst a 3-0 lead. Schoppel added his second goal of the game before the Cardinals lit the lamp twice late in the third period to bring the game to its scoring conclusion.

With two consecutive wins over NESCAC foes, Amherst hoped to extend its win streak to three against Hamilton College on Jan. 11. Even though the final score was 7-5 in the Continentals' favor, the game featured many bright spots for the Lord Jeffs. Not surprisingly, Kretzman led the way for Amherst, scoring a shorthanded goal and adding two assists.

These excellent performances, however, did not spark a win for the