The women’s ice hockey team is accustomed to playing familiar opponents in back-to-back games on Fridays and Saturdays. When the Jeffs’ faced off against Neumann College, they didn’t know what to expect. It was the first meeting ever between the two teams, and the Jeffs hadn’t played a game all weekend until the puck dropped at Orr Rink on Sunday afternoon.
Amherst is gearing up for the playoffs, and fit the game into that agenda. “We are starting the last push into playoffs so this weekend was about being sharp,” said co-captain defenseman Julie Radziewicz ’09. “We had a weird week of practices because so many people were sick so it was good to be able to play late in the weekend. We didn’t know much about Neumann, so we prepared just like any other important game.”
The Jeffs made a statement with a three-goal first period. About halfway through the period Neumann drew a penalty. Just 13 seconds into the power play, junior forward Lindsey Harrington banged home a puck in the front of the net. Defenseman Randi Zukas ’11 and forward Courtney Hanlon ’11 provided the assists. Hanlon then teamed up with defenseman Julia Koch ’11 to assist forward Molly Malloy’s backhanded goal. Immediately following the second goal, Malloy and Hanlon nearly connected again on a breakaway, but were denied by Neumann goalie Mel Brunet. With less than three minutes remaining in the period, Anna MacLean fluttered a shot past Brunet, with helpers by co-captain forward Meg Quinn ’08 and defenseman Katharine Kelly ’08.
“I think a combination of things helped us do well,” said Quinn. “We hadn’t played in a while so the team was excited to get back on the ice again, and we were well rested. Our team came out ready to put them away early. Had we not scored three goals in the first period, it could have been a very different game.”
Amherst’s 3-0 lead after one period seemed to be the start of a blowout. However, Neumann picked up the pace. Instead of goals, the second period featured a slew of penalties, with four committed by Amherst. At one point the Jeffs gave Neumann a 5-3 advantage for over a minute, but killed it off. The score remained 3-0 after two periods.
The Jeffs went on the power play early in the third period, but Neumann chalked up a short-handed tally. Neumann drew a five-minute major penalty for hitting from behind with less than three minutes left in the game, but Amherst committed its sixth penalty of the afternoon a minute later, and both teams held on for the final score of 3-1.
The Neumann contest marks the end of Amherst’s non-conference games. The Jeffs, who are undefeated in the NESCAC, have four crucial regular season games remaining. Their goal is to win all of them to earn the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament. It is not an easy task, so the Jeffs are taking it one day at a time. “We try not to look too far ahead on our schedule and stay focused on the game in front of us,” said Radziewicz.
This weekend they travel to Williams College and though the Ephs’ 3-15-2, 1-10-1 NESCAC record is encouraging, Amherst has never won at Williams’ Lansing Chapman Rink. On Saturday, fifth-ranked Amherst will head to top-ranked Middlebury College (16-1-2, 10-0-2 NESCAC) for a showdown of the teams currently undefeated in the conference. The first rematch of the 2007 NESCAC Championship final—in which Amherst beat Middlebury in triple overtime—ended in a draw, setting the stage for an exciting game on Saturday.