Conn. and Amherst each came out playing offensive-minded hockey last Saturday, each hoping to grab the all-important first goal. The Jeffs nearly grabbed the lead, but they were shorthanded when senior captain Kyle Schoppel’s backhand shot was saved by the Camels goalie, Greg Parker. But the Jeffs seized the upper hand five minutes into the game, when Schoppel’s backhand pass landed on the stick of Keith Nelson ’10, who then blasted a slap-shot past Parker. It was Nelson’s fourth power-play tally of the season and Schoppel’s 98th career point. Jeff Landers ’09 was also credited with an assist. That the Jeffs’ tally came with a man-advantage is hardly surprising; Amherst’s power-play has been solid all season long and has led to 28 tallies on the year, 35 percent of the team’s goals.
“We had a good week of practice on the power-play, and we did a great job of getting traffic in front of their net,” noted Schoppel. It proved to be critical five minutes later, when junior defenseman Shane Lennox and senior forward Gregg Adamo set-up senior forward Andrew Schremp during a 5-on-3 advantage. Schremp found the net for his third goal of the season, and the Jeffs went into the locker room with a comfortable two-goal lead.
Amherst was unable to add to its lead in the second period, mainly because the team spent most of its time shorthanded. Five penalties on five different players gave the Camels a number of chances to draw closer. Eventually, they capitalized. Although it wasn’t technically a power-play goal, the Camels drew blood right as Amherst junior forward Joel Covelli ’09 stepped out of the box. Ryan Howarth’s goal sparked Conn. following a sloppy second period by the Jeffs, and the Camels’ momentum carried into the third period.
“We played two periods of smart, gritty hockey,” said senior captain Rob Stevenson. “Even when they managed to tie it up in the third, we knew that our willingness to do the little things right would get us the win.”
The Camels controlled much of the third period, and a number of scoring chances nearly resulted in a tie. Rookie netminder Cole Anderson showed no signs of nervousness in his playoff debut, making a number of great saves for the Jeffs. “Anderson has played exceptionally well all year,” said Stevenson. “He’s a cool-headed goaltender that relies on strong angles; he’s in position for every shot before it’s made.” Anderson could only save the Jeffs for so long, though, and with nine minutes to play in the third period, Ben Eischen of Conn. finally tied the score.
Regulation wouldn’t deliver a winner, so the teams headed to overtime. The intermission seemingly fired up the Jeffs, who came out attacking the Connecticut net. McIntosh broke free after a feed from Rylan Burns ’09 and sent a wrister into the left side of the net. The Amherst bench cleared out and piled on top of McIntosh against the left corner boards; Arena’s 300th victory could hardly have come in more dramatic fashion.
For the Jeffs, the celebration was kept to a minimum, as thoughts of Middlebury began to enter their minds almost immediately. The winning formula will likely include physical, disciplined hockey against the Panthers. Schoppel expressed excitement about playing Middlebury on the Colby ice. “The fact that we play them at Colby is great because it takes their home crowd out of the equation, and allows us to beat them physically on the small rink,” he said.
“Middlebury is a well-coached, highly skilled and disciplined team with strong senior leadership and experience winning,” added Stevenson. “However, they do not like to be hit, and given the game is at Colby on a smaller ice surface, we will have an easier time outplaying them physically. Penalties killed us last time up there and, in order to win, we will have to outmatch their discipline and stay out of the box.”
The Jeffs knows that two wins will guarantee them their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. To do so, they will have to beat arguably the best Div. III hockey program in the country. With the best goaltending in the league, they just might pull it off.