Adding to the Jeffs' victory were first-year attackmen J.T. Milone with two goals and an assist, and Matt Kellman and Tom McDonnell who each earned one goal and two assists. Sophomore attackman Brett Miller tallied a goal and two assists as well, helping the Jeffs oust their competition 14-2.
Such great offense came along with outstanding defense from sophomore goaltender Matt Pietroforte, who only allowed one goal on eight shots from the Polar Bears. This was the least number of shots in a game Pietroforte has ever faced in his Amherst career-a tribute to the Jeffs stingy defense.
"The Bowdoin game was an awesome win for our team," said Cherney. "We finally put together four full quarters and showed how dangerous we can be if we play hard all game. We got contributions from everyone on the team, with 14 different players getting points. After playing so many close games, it was great to be able to relax and really enjoy a win. It also allowed a lot of the younger guys to play and get some good game experience."
Although the Jeffs made big strides in the game against Bowdoin, they could not keep the momentum going against Tufts University, ranked nonth in the nation. But Amherst did not hand over the win easily. During the first quarter, the Jeffs maintained two long scoring possessions for the first seven minutes of the game, giving Amherst a 2-0 lead. Providing the goals were first-year attackman Rob Denious and junior attackman T.J. Jackson. Yet almost a minute later the Jumbos responded with their own goal. Keeping the tension even tighter was Jackson who found the net less than half a minute later for his second goal and gave Amherst an extended lead. For the remainder of the first quarter the game swung back and forth, with both teams trading goals and eventually finishing the frame tied 4-4. In the second period, despite giving the first goal to the Jumbos, the Jeffs posted three uncontested goals, and headed into halftime with a lead of 7-5. Junior attackman Will Ferrer scored two of the three goals only 40 seconds apart to end the half.
Unfortunately, the Jeffs could not keep up the impressive play in the second half, allowing Tufts to score five unanswered goals in the third and first 10 minutes of the fourth period. With just six minutes of regulation playing time remaining, the Jumbos' comeback gave them a 10-7 lead. Cherney tried to save the day with a goal and an assist, but the Jeffs' fate was already sealed by another Tufts goal with only 11 seconds remaining, giving the Jumbos an 11-9 victory. "In terms of today's game, we fell short to a tough opponent, but also gained a greater sense of confidence in ourselves," said Miller. "We know we can beat that team on any given day, and today we were simply, as Owen Neill would say, 'Unlucky'."
Coming up for the Jeffs is a game against Colby College at 1 p.m. on Saturday and the quarterfinals of the NES-
CAC Tournament on Sunday against an undetermined opponent. "Although the Tufts game today was definitely disappointing, it once again demonstrated that we can play with anyone in the country," Cherney stated. "We feel like we are peaking at the right time and know that we can go deep into the playoffs if we eliminate some careless mistakes and continue to play at the high level we have been for the past couple of weeks."
NESCAC Notes
Tufts and Wesleyan Universities look like the front-runners in the NESCAC Tournament, but it is unsure who will receive the number one seed and first-round bye.