After defeating Middlebury in the NESCAC final, the Jeffs received an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs and were given the honor of hosting the game at Orr Rink. In the first round, they faced off against the Babson College Beavers. The Beavers came into the game with a record of 13-13-1.
Babson, despite losing to Amherst 6-3 early in the year, was not going down without a fight. The Beavers came out flying in the first period and it seemed like the Jeffs were caught on their heels. Three posts and the great play of Jonathan LaRose ’11 in the net would keep the Jeffs in the game and send the teams to their locker rooms scoreless after 20 minutes of play.
Later, halfway through the second, the Beavers would get on the board with a power play goal. The Jeffs were quick to respond, however, with Brendan Powers ’09 netting the first goal of the game just 36 seconds later. This goal seemed to light a fire under the Jeffs and take the wind out of Babson’s sails. From this point on it was all Amherst with captain Jeff Landers ’09 and Eddie Effinger ’12 each tallying a goal and Powers adding his second of the night to make the final score 4-1. LaRose was solid in net, stopping an amazing 48 shots in the victory.
“It was a huge win for our program,” said Landers. “We felt confident heading into the game so it was great that we were able to play our game and keep the season going.”
With this win, the Jeffs advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. This time they were again given the honor of hosting their opponent, Hobart College, at Orr Rink.
In the first period, the Jeffs and the Statesmen tallied 17 shots apiece, but Hobart was able to break through with the only goal of the period scored on the power play 16 minutes in. Later in the second, the Jeffs would respond with a goal of their own scored by Keith Nelson ’10 and assisted by Matt Rhone ’11 and Landers.
The rest of the game remained scoreless despite great scoring chances for both teams. Goalie Cole Anderson ’11, named to the All-American first team, turned away 36 shots over three periods of play and brought the game to overtime tied one-one.
For 11 minutes of overtime, both teams fought hard with scoring chances that could have ended the game. Unfortunately for the Jeffs, Hobart scored the eventual game-winner and put an end to their Cinderella season.
“We have nothing to hang our heads about,” said Landers. “We put in a great effort in this game and all season. This year was awesome. All 25 guys pulled for each other and wanted more than anything to win. That mentality forced everyone to work as hard as they could which allowed us to play to our potential and achieve things never achieved in our program’s history.”
Despite the loss, the Amherst seniors — Rylan Burns, Shane Lennox, Will Collins, Joel Covelli, Brendan Powers, Femi Amurawaiye and Jeff Landers — and the rest of the team can be proud to say that they were part of the best season in Amherst program history with a record of 22-5-1 and the school’s first ever NESCAC championship. Landers capped off his last season with a place on the All-NESCAC first team as well as the All-American first team. Landers is the leading scorer for the Jeffs with 42 points this season and 98 points in his career. For his success he was named the National Men’s Hockey Player of the Year and is the winner of the ninth annual Joe Concannon Award, which recognizes New England’s best American-born hockey player at the Div. II-III level.