Led by a dominating first line and perhaps the best special teams unit in the NESCAC, the Lord Jeffs have quickly established themselves as a team ready to win right now. Expectations will continue to grow and level-headed senior captain forward Sean Ellis continues to stay focused.
"We know we had a good weekend and have been confident since day one," said Ellis. "But it's important to continue to realize that the next game is the most important game."
Ellis' play has been more than captain worthy, reeling off a team-leading seven goals so far. But you couldn't get him to compliment himself for a moment. "I attribute all of that to my line and the rest of the guys on the team," Ellis said. "Without them going out and grinding every shift, I can't be successful and I need to do the same thing."
Heading into Friday night's highly anticipated matchup with Norwich, who pounded Amherst 7-0 last season, the hockey world received crushing news. Last season's team captain for Norwich, Michael Serba, was killed earlier in the week. Serba had posted a goal and two assists against the Jeffs in last year's contest and the news of his death understandably rocked the Norwich community. Amherst posted a moment of silence in his honor before the game.
From the opening face-off, it was clear Amherst had its sights tunneled in on a victory. Just 10 seconds into the contest, Ellis jumped on a Norwich turnover before roofing a shot over the goaltender's right shoulder. The Jeffs went up a pair when Will Collins '09 took a beautiful long pass from defenseman Shane Lennox '09 and finished off with a sweet deke to the backhand.
Norwich responded with two goals by James Duhamel and Nikita Kashirsky at the seven-minute mark of the second stanza. The tie game ignited the Amherst offense as they ran off three straight tallies. Red-hot forward Olufemi Amurawaiye '09 put the Jeffs ahead when he corralled a perfect cross-ice feed from forward Ted Vickers '10 and picked out the top corner for his third goal in as many games.
Rookie forward Jack Baer '10 picked a perfect time to light the lamp for his first time in an Amherst uniform when he rifled a wrister into the top right corner as Amurawaiye and Vickers notched the assists.
Ellis grabbed the game-winner less than a minute later after some courageous work by line mate Kyle Schoppel '08. Schoppel had been battling the flu all week long and was vomiting throughout the game while on the bench. That didn't stop the talented forward from breaking in on the right side and firing a shot that Norwich netminder David Thompson couldn't control as Ellis followed on net and smashed the rebound home. The Amherst crowd has rarely been as full and loud as it was after that goal, keeping the huge Norwich contingency at bay.
Following a Norwich timeout, Kashirsky struck again, sending the game to the final frame with the Jeffs in front 5-3. Rico Piatelli pulled the Cadets within a goal six minutes into the third period, but that was as close as they would come. A barrage of Cadet shots were turned aside by goalie Josh Fillman '07 and the Amherst defense buckled down en route to one of the biggest wins in the past few seasons. Fillman finished the game with an impressive 35 stops, while Thompson made 12 saves for Norwich. Sophomore transfer Joel Covelli '09 continued to set up his new teammates with two helpers in the game.
There certainly wasn't as much energy at Orr Rink on Saturday afternoon when Amherst welcomed 1-4 St. Michaels. But that didn't slow the Purple Knights from jumping ahead only 15 seconds after the puck dropped. The goal didn't quite wake Amherst up as some sloppy play in the opening minutes gave St. Mike's the impression that they belonged on the ice with Amherst. The Jeffs took advantage of two power-play opportunities as forward Andrew Schremp '08 and defenseman Jeff Landers '09 buried goals sending the teams into the locker room with Amherst in front 2-1.
The game remained slow in the second stanza before Schremp gave Amherst a two-goal cushion at the midway point. Defenseman Brandon Zangel '07 fired a wrist-shot that deflected 10 feet above the St. Mike goalie and landed right in the crease before Schremp slammed it into the empty net.
The third period was all Jeffs as Amurawaiye scored followed by a pair from Ellis and senior forward Erik Lund's first tally of the season to nail the coffin on the Purple Knights, 7-1. Covelli's three assists left him with a NESCAC-leading 12 for the season and Fillman registered 19 saves in the victory.
NESCAC Notes
Covelli and Ellis are each in the top five in conference points. Hamilton and Bowdoin Colleges join the Jeffs as the only three unbeaten conference teams.