The Amherst College men’s hockey team is off to another promising start, winning three of their first four contests against NESCAC opponents. On opening weekend, the Jeffs skated to a pair of victories over Trinity College and Wesleyan University, by scores of 4-1 and 4-0, respectively. With a successful offense and a solid debut from rookie netminder Cole Anderson, Amherst looked to continue its winning streak at the John Dunham Invitational Tournament. The Jeffs opened the tournament strongly, pounding Connecticut College 4-1, but they fell short of the title, losing 5-4 to host Trinity in overtime.
One key aspect of the Jeffs’ success has been their ability to find the back of the net. The offense has been stellar, posting four goals in each game so far this season. Forward Greg Adamo ’08 is off to the best start of his career, with four goals and two assists. Adamo’s play has been consistent as well, as he has scored a tally in every game this season. But he’s hardly caught up in the success. “To be honest, I think that it is a combination of the fact that I am playing with two really skilled, smart players, Mike McIntosh ’08 and Luke Arnold ’11, and being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes you get hot and now it’s just a matter of keeping it up and working hard night in and out to get better both individually and to help the guys around me get better.” Line-mate McIntosh and his clever passing has orchestrated seven Amherst goals this season. The firepower also stems from senior co-captain Kyle Schoppel ’08, who has four goals.
Keeping NESCAC opponents off the board is a difficult task for any goaltender. Luckily, Anderson’s early season play suggests that the Jeffs can depend on his abilities. Anderson has posted a .931 save percentage so far. In his lone loss this season, he still managed to stop 44 Bantam shots. “Cole has played really well,” said Adamo, “Saturday he played unbelievably and pretty much won that game for us with three outstanding breakaway saves in the first period.” The defensive success can’t be attributed solely to the goalie. Amherst defensemen Jeff Landers ’09, Rylan Burns ’09 and senior co-captain Rob Stevenson have played well while protecting the Amherst net.
In Saturday’s match, the Jeffs grabbed the lead early on from the Camels and never looked back. Adamo gave the Jeffs the advantage with eight minutes remaining, before Arnold picked up his first career tally late in the first period. Conn. cut the lead in half four minutes into the second stanza, but back-to-back goals from Landers sealed the win for the Lord Jeffs. Amherst was relentless, peppering the Conn. net with 51 shots while thwarting Camel offensives.
The Championship game featured a rematch of the season opener, this time on Trinity’s home ice. The Bantams scored first, but Adamo and Joel Covelli ’09 tallied in the second period, giving Amherst the advantage. A wild third period saw Trinity snipe two goals before Trip Way ’11 made his first career goal to knot the game at three. Schoppel’s power-play goal gave Amherst an edge, but Trinity drew even to force an overtime. The Bantams dominated the extra session with 15 shots before finally connecting with 4:30 remaining. “We walked through our first three games,” acknowledged Adamo. “I think it was good for our team to face a bit of adversity, especially since we are up against Norwich this upcoming weekend, who will be, by far, the best team we’ve played thus far.”
With senior-led offense and excellent goaltending, Amherst Head Coach Jack Arena ’83 and Assistant Coach Darren Reaume ’02 have reason to be optimistic.