"I guess in the end it just came down to the fact that they were able to convert on more opportunities than we were," said junior forward Kyle Schoppel, who seems to have the best explanation for another tough defeat at the hands of Bowdoin College. The Jeffs were hoping to avoid elimination by the Polar Bears for the third consecutive season. Despite a valiant comeback attempt, the Jeffs' season came to an end with a 6-3 loss in the NESCAC semifinals. Amherst finished 14-10-1 on the season while the Polar Bears eventually fell to Middlebury College in the championship game on Sunday afternoon.

Bowdoin took the lead over Amherst midway through the first period on the power play when Mike Corbelle buried a rebounder from a Matt Smith shot. Amherst and Bowdoin played even hockey throughout the remainder of the period, but the teams headed to the locker room with Bowdoin leading by a goal. The second period turned out to be the turning point for Bowdoin. Just 14 seconds in, the Polar Bears doubled their lead when Brian Ciborowski scored, gathering momentum in favor of the Polar Bears.

Amherst really needed to grab a goal, but instead it was Bowdoin who lit the lamp when Tim McVaugh scored only three minutes later. "Bowdoin's a very talented offensive team and is constantly looking to attack," said defenseman Jeff Landers '09. "Overall I think the defense did a pretty decent job with keeping them in check, but when you play a team like Bowdoin you can't afford any lapses."

On the verge of a blow-out, Landers, a talented defenseman who has had a knack for big goals this season, brought Amherst back during a five-on-three advantage when he deflected a shot by forward Brendan Powers '09 past Bowdoin goaltender Chris Rossi. Trying to cut the lead to a goal, Amherst saw a few chances stymied by the Bowdoin defense. The backbreaker came at the 17:36 mark when Ryan Blossom gave Bowdoin a commanding 4-1 lead before the start of the third period.

Amherst would not give up; the Jeffs came out blazing in the third period. Schoppel tucked home his 10th goal of the season off of a feed from Powers and forward Joel Covelli '09. Senior captain forward Sean Ellis nearly brought the Jeffs within a goal when his shorthanded break-away opportunity dinged off the post. With just under seven minutes to play, forward Olufemi Amurawaiye '09 took charge, knocking home his sixth goal of the season with help from forward Gregg Adamo '08 and defenseman Michael McIntosh '08. The Jeffs were back in business.

A power-play attempt with five minutes to play proved to be Amherst's last real offensive pressure before Bowdoin's Mike Westerman took the puck in alone and beat Amherst goalie A.J. Scola '09, icing the Jeffs' season. "We showed a lot of heart coming back as we did in the third," said defenseman Rylan Burns '09.

Once again Bowdoin capitalized on another unfortunate bounce to put the game away late in the game. Landers echoed Burns' thoughts: "We played our best hockey of the season in the third period. If we had played that way the first two periods we probably would have won." Bowdoin added a late empty netter to give them a 6-3 victory.

It was the final game for a group of Amherst seniors that have proved to be one of the best to play for the Jeffs over the course of four seasons. "All of the seniors were great leaders both on and off the ice this year and will definitely be missed by everyone next year," said Schoppel. "They are a great group of guys and outstanding teammates."

Now it's time for a new group of players to emerge and take the reins from Ellis, defenseman Brandon Zangel '06 and the rest of the class of 2007. Burns is ready. He said, "I think we realize that we are one of the top teams in the NESCAC and will enter next year expecting to improve both our regular season record and playoff run."

NESCAC Notes

Defending National Champion Middlebury College won another NESCAC crown and will face SUNY Fredonia in the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday.