The women’s ice hockey team has put together its longest unbeaten streak of the season, an 8-0-1 run consisting mostly of convincing wins. The Jeffs began this stretch on the road on Jan. 11 by shutting out Wesleyan University 6-0, before traveling to Hamilton College the next day to give the Continentals a 5-1 drubbing. This weekend, Amherst played host to those same teams and kept its unbeaten streak alive.
Friday’s game, however, was not the blowout most fans and even players expected. “I think our 5-1 win over Hamilton only a week or two before gave us a false sense of security,” admitted first-year defenseman Julia Koch. “They’re a hard-working team like most of the other teams in [the] NESCAC, so you have to make sure you come to play for 60 minutes.”
The game was gritty from the start, and it appeared neither team could get into a rhythm. The Jeffs limited Hamilton’s chances—allowing only four shots in the first period—but were stifled by Hamilton goalie Meg Shine as she turned aside all 12 of Amherst’s shots. “The Hamilton game was a tough one,” said first-year forward Courtney Hanlon. “We had trouble connecting on passes in the first period and the overall energy of the team wasn’t as high as it normally is.”
After a scoreless first period, Amherst went on a 5-on-3 power play in the second, but was unable to capitalize. While still holding a man advantage, the Jeffs were whistled for a penalty, and Hamilton took a 1-0 lead during the 4-on-4 play.
The Continentals continued to be aggressive, drawing their fifth and sixth penalties of the game. Amherst’s power play unit was denied again and finished 0-for-7 in the game. At even strength, though, the Jeffs finally broke through. Sophomore forward Michelle McGann tied the game at 1-1 with 2:58 remaining in the second period.
Though the shots were 29-8 in favor of Amherst through two periods, the Continentals seemed to be encouraged by the even score against the defending NESCAC Champions. Just over halfway through the final frame, Amherst goalie Krystyn Elek ’10 made a big save on the right side of the net, but a Hamilton player was able to lift the rebound into the goal. Clinging to a 2-1 lead, the Continentals and Shine stymied the typically high-scoring Amherst offense. The Jeffs killed off a penalty and with 2:31 left in regulation, Head Coach Jim Plumer called a timeout.
Amherst responded with a goal. Less than 20 seconds after play resumed, sophomore forward Molly Malloy took off down the right wing with the puck. With no one defending, she fired a slap shot that beat Shine to the top left corner. Koch and co-captain defender Julie Radziewicz ’09 picked up helpers on the game-tying score.
In the five-minute overtime session, it appeared that Hamilton was content playing for a tie, holding the puck against the boards and failing to register a shot. None of the Jeffs’ five shots got past Shine, who was named NESCAC Player of the Week. Despite out-shooting Hamilton 48-13 in the game, Amherst left the ice after the final buzzer, still tied, 2-2.
The next game was a different story. Amherst scored early and often to shut out Wesleyan 7-0. “It was good to see the whole team get back out on the ice and take care of business,” said Elek. “It was also nice to see the amount of offensive success we had; their goalie is tough to beat, but we capitalized on our opportunities.”
Hanlon and Malloy each tallied a pair of goals while Koch picked up two assists. Also scoring for Amherst were defenseman Kirsten Dier ’10 and forwards Kate Dennett ’10 and Elizabeth Ditmore ’08.
The 1-0-1 weekend puts Amherst at 13-3-3 and 9-0-3 in the NESCAC. The Jeffs will take a break from their NESCAC schedule to host Neumann College on Sunday. Then, Amherst will have two weekends of conference games, which will help to finalize the seeding for the NESCAC Tournament.