After a pair of impressive NESCAC wins last weekend over Connecticut College and Tufts University, Amherst sits comfortably in second place in the conference heading into pivotal vacationland weekend excursion to Bowdoin and Colby Colleges. The Polar Bears and Mules are currently deadlocked in fifth place. "Right now we are hot and they haven't been playing so great as of late, but as we all know that means nothing when you head up there to play both of those teams back to back," said forward Greg Adamo '08.
What has been the key to the recent success? You won't find one Amherst player in the top 10 of any offensive category, but you will find them boasting the best penalty kill, the third-best scoring defense, and a fourth-ranked power-play. "Unlike most teams we have four balanced lines and we get our defensemen involved in the offense a lot," said Adamo.
Goaltender Josh Fillman '07 has become one of the top netminders in the NESCAC and the full-time starter for the Jeffs. Fillman is currently third in goals against average with a minuscule 2.63, and third in save percentage at .916. He anchors a solid defense that has provided scoring from an unlikely source of late. Defender Brandon Zangel '07 has recorded a point in seven straight contests, including a pair of gorgeous goals this past weekend.
Many of the players have enjoyed a successful month, but few had a better weekend Jan. 13th and 14th than forward Steve Nelson '06 who racked up a remarkable eight points (five goals, three assists) in two games during Amherst wins over Salem St. College and Southern Maine University.
Just a week later, Nelson's fortunes turned during the opening period of a 7-2 shellacking of Skidmore College. Nelson was on the receiving end of a dirty knee-on-knee collision that resulted in an ACL and MCL tear, ending his stellar career for Amherst which saw Nelson pile up 31 goals and 38 assists.
Fillman praised the way Nelson has handled the situation. "After an injury like that it would be easy to fade away, but he's been a great influence in the locker room allowing us to keep playing great," he said. Forward Erik Lund '07, who joined Nelson's former linemates after the tragic injury, said, "missing him hurts us a lot, he's just a great natural goal scorer; but he's still going to be one of the leaders our team looks to, regardless."
Friday night's match up with visiting Conn. was Amherst's first NESCAC game on home ice since the opening weekend in November. Orr Rink has been kind to Amherst, which now boasts a 7-1 home mark. Forward Sean Ellis '07 got the Jeffs going early when he ripped a slap-shot on a perfect power-play set-up. The Camels answered on a power-play of their own sending the teams to the locker rooms knotted after the first period. The second stanza was all Jeffs, with Zangel sniping a wrister past the sprawling Camel goalie from the right slot and Lund punishing a Conn. turnover with another tally. The Camels got within a goal twice, but rookie forward Olufemi Amurawaiye '09 stuffed home a rebound off a shot from forward Rob Balanda '06 and Ellis converted an empty-netter to put the Jeffs' win on ice.
Saturday afternoon saw visiting Tufts University in a crucial NESCAC battle for playoff positioning-a battle Amherst dominated all game long. Tufts opened the scoring on a controversial shot that appeared to go underneath the right side of the net. Referees eventually ruled the shot a goal after a 10-minute delay. That was the only "goal" Tufts could create as Fillman stopped 31 Jumbo shots. Will Collins '09 made a sensational play drawing the attention of a Tufts defender, the goalie and everyone else at the rink before making a dynamic dish to a charging Zangel, who buried a one-timer to knot the score. Forward A.J. Greco '06 scored the game-winner, stuffing home a rebound while Ellis and Lund tallied third period goals to send Tufts home a 4-1 loser.
The Jeffs understand what they have in front of them, but you won't get any of them to look past any opponent with memories of playing at Bowdoin still leaving a bitter taste in their mouth. Fillman said, "Typically the NESCAC is so tight down the stretch that one game at the end of the season can move you from second to seventh." Don't look for the Jeffs to fall out of the top four-they are playing with the poise, tenacity and confidence that the talented teams of the NESCAC will feel during the upcoming weeks.
NESCAC Notes
Top-ranked Middlebury is number one in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Middlebury's Michey Gilchrest and Williams' Kevin Child are tied for the lead in points with 23 while Middlebury's goaltenders Ross Cherry and Doug Raeder are tops in every major goaltender statistic; just ahead of Fillman. Amherst is the best in combined special teams, while Ellis sits in fifth place with 11 assists.