After the seniors’ biggest win to date the previous weekend over Bowdoin College, the Amherst College men’s hockey team took out another foe on Saturday afternoon when they defeated New England College for the first time in six years. In doing so, the Jeffs assured themselves of a first-round home playoff game. Next on the to-do list: beat Williams and Middlebury Colleges this weekend.
“It is a huge advantage to have home ice for the first game, because no matter where we finish in the standings, we will be playing a good team in the quarterfinals,” said senior co-captain Kyle Schoppel. “I’m not sure I’m ready to say goodbye to Orr yet, so it,s great to know that Saturday wasn’t our last game here. It will be really exciting for everyone to play in front of a home crowd in the postseason.”
Amherst didn’t begin the weekend the way it had envisioned. On Friday night, the Jeffs dropped a tough matchup to visiting St. Anselm’s College, 2-1. Despite firing 46 shots on goal, Amherst could only muster one past netminder Pat Gallagher. The Hawks got on the board on the power-play in the first period when Matt Grazioso scored the first of his two tallies of the night. Three consecutive Amherst power-plays gave the Jeffs a number of chances to score, but St. Anselm’s killed off the Amherst man-advantage and seized momentum.
Grazioso scored again for the Hawks six minutes into the second period, leaving the Jeffs staring at a two-goal deficit. Will Collins ’10 stepped up for Amherst, knocking home his first goal of the season off feeds from Jeff Landers ’09 and Andrew Schremp ’08.
Amherst continued to press in the third period, but the equalizer was nowhere to be found. Rookie goalie Cole Anderson stopped 32 pucks in a losing effort, and the Jeffs added pressure to an already-tight NESCAC playoff race. Schoppel described the disappointment. “There seems to be a pattern with our play. We tend to struggle against the inferior teams and we tend to play very well against good teams. Luckily, we are only playing very good teams for the rest of the year, so I’m confident that we will play our best hockey this weekend.”
It appeared that Amherst was on pace for another disappointing finish to the regular season, as they welcomed 15th-ranked New England College to Orr rink. The Amherst seniors were honored before the game: co-captains Rob Stevenson, Schoppel and Schremp, forwards Gregg Adamo and Mike McIntosh and defenseman Griffin Biedron all were recognized for their successful four seasons with the Jeffs. They compiled a record of 51-39-6 during their career and are on pace for one of the best seasons in school history.
In the furious first period, both teams saw a number of good chances. Teddy Vickers ’10 put Amherst ahead eight minutes into the contest, burying a cross-ice pass from Collins. Stevenson also grabbed an assist after a beautiful up-ice pass to Collins that started the rush and led to the goal.
Amherst only led for a little more than a minute, however, as the Pilgrims’ Filip Bjork tied the score. With 34 seconds left in the opening period, the Jeffs penalty kill gave up their second goal of the weekend and sent the Jeffs down a goal as they headed to the locker room.
Amherst responded with a great second period, firing 15 shots on goal and earning three power-plays. It wasn’t enough to tie the game, though, and Amherst headed into the third period still down a goal. Brendan Powers ’09 came through with a clutch game-tying goal when he finished off a flurry in front of the Pilgrims’ net. Schremp and Jack Baer ’10 were credited with assists on the goal.
Three periods were not enough to settle the battle, so Senior Day would have to run into overtime. Joel Covelli ’09 picked up a loose puck at center ice after a New England defender fell down, and Covelli skated in alone. With 21 seconds showing on the clock, Covelli fired a wrist-shot into the top right corner and secured a victory for Amherst, as well as home-ice advantage in the opening round of the NESCAC Tournament. The Amherst bench mobbed Covelli on the boards and celebrated the emotional victory.
The victory, combined with a Connecticut College win and losses by Williams and Wesleyan University, assured Amherst of no lower than the fourth seed in the NESCAC Tournament. There is still an outside chance that the Jeffs could host the entire tournament, but the team would need to sweep Middlebury and Williams, and see Bowdoin and Colby Colleges lose for that to happen.
With wins over five nationally ranked opponents this season, expectations for the Jeffs are high. As Stevenson said, “We know we can beat anybody, and to lower your goals beyond a championship doesn’t make sense.”
“The only improvement we need to make is to play consistent hockey for the entire 60 minutes,” said the captain. “We’ve proven we can play with and beat the best teams in the country, so all we have to do is play our smart, disciplined and tenacious style of hockey for the entire 60 minutes and we will be in great shape heading down the home stretch.”