On Sunday, the Jeffs suffered a 4-2 loss against second-ranked Plattsburgh State University. The Cardinals showed why they are one of the top teams in the country, as they controlled the game at both ends of the rink. Amherst began the game flat and found themselves trailing 2-0 just eight minutes into the game. The early deficit proved to be too much for the Jeffs. Though they were able to score, the visiting Jeffs were never able to tie the game or take the lead.
After the first period, in which Amherst was outshot 14-8, the Jeffs played even with Plattsburgh State, scoring and surrendering one goal in each of the final two periods. First-year forward standout Lindsey Harrington continued to demonstrate her ability to score by netting her 12th goal of the season off a feed from junior forward Rachel Simon. Also scoring for Amherst was sophomore forward Meg Quinn at 18:29 in the final period. The goal was assisted by sophomore defender Katharine Kelly and senior forward Renee Sisti.
Coming off a week in which she won three games-including a shutout of conference opponent Trinity College-and was named NESCAC women's ice hockey player of the week, sophomore goalie Stacey Johnston stopped 31 shots. On the other side of the rink, Plattsburgh State goalie Breanne Doyle had 23 saves.
The Jeffs have showed flashes of brilliance and proved that they are able to compete with the best teams in the country. Sunday's loss, however, showed that the Jeffs are having trouble finding consistency. "We need to be able to play every period of every game from now on at the same high level we competed at against Middlebury [College] or [UW-River Falls]," said Johnston.
On Saturday, Amherst struggled mightily in an 8-2 loss against the ninth-ranked Elmira Eagles at Orr Rink. The Eagles' offense proved to be too much of a burden for the Jeffs. After the first period, it appeared as though the game was going to remain close and come down to a final shot. Elmira took the lead early in the first period, just 27 seconds into the game. However, Harrington continued her scoring ways by tying the game at 7:31 off an assist from senior forward Leah Kaplan and co-captain forward Meg Dickoff '07.
However, after the first period-which ended up knotted at 1-1-the Eagles flew away with the lead. Elmira dominated the second and third periods, scoring three and four goals, respectively. Amherst was outshot each period and was only able to muster one score, when Dickoff netted a goal late in the third frame. Between the pipes, Johnston made 26 saves, one less than Elmira's first-year goaltender Allison Cubberley. Elmira was led by rookie forward Kayla Coady and senior forward Jaclyn O'Neil who each had two goals.
The Jeffs know that they will need to play well down the stretch to earn a playoff birth and advance in the NESCAC tournament. "I think that all of us believe our team has the potential to beat any team in the league," Johnston said. "We can't afford to lose any more games to teams we could have beaten if we'd played better."
The upcoming weekend is huge for the Jeffs. They travel to Williams College to face their archrivals on Friday, and then take on top-ranked Middlebury College on Saturday.
NESCAC Notes
Middlebury remains at the top of the NESCAC and the nation with an 11-1 conference mark and an 18-1 overall record. Bowdoin is close behind at 13-6 overall. With an 8-11 record, the Jeffs remain in sixth place in the NESCAC, ahead of Connecticut and Trinity Colleges and Wesleyan University.