What a difference five years can make.
In his first year, the women's hockey team set a school record with 13 wins. In 2007, it abruptly entered the national radar, claiming a NESCAC crown and a place in the Division III’s Frozen Four. And Saturday night, after a dominant regular season, Plumer and the Lord Jeffs climbed to the top of the sport, winning their first National Championship in an overtime thriller over Elmira College in Middlebury, Vt.
To prove that they were the best, the Jeffs had to take on the best. In the three rounds of the national tournament, Amherst took down the only three teams ever to win a Div. III women's hockey championship: Plattsburgh State in the quarterfinals (4-1), Middlebury College in the Semifinals (3-2), and, finally, Elmira (4-3).
Two weeks ago, it was uncertain whether the Jeffs would even make the NCAA playoffs. After the Jeffs lost to Middlebury in overtime of the NESCAC final, it was up to an NCAA committee to determine whether Amherst would be one of the seven teams headed to the playoffs. The committee granted Amherst a second chance by giving the team a bid. On Saturday, March 14, the Jeffs faced perennial powerhouse Plattsburgh State University, defending national champion for the past two years. The Jeffs had never beaten the Cardinals but they went into the game confident and determined to make the best of this second opportunity. And they did just that, defeating the Cardinals 4-1, with a spectacular four-goal second period. This big win sent the Jeffs to the Frozen Four for the second time in program history (in 2007, Amherst placed fourth).
On Friday, March 20, Amherst faced the host of the tournament and NESCAC rival, Middlebury College.
“We were excited to get to play Midd again in the NCAA semifinal after they beat us in the NESCAC final, and we were running off the energy from our game against Plattsburgh,” said Randi Zukas ’11.
It quickly became clear that the teams were very evenly matched and that much of the battle would be in the neutral zone. However, after four and a half minutes of play, Zukas drew a penalty after being tripped by Anna McNally of Middlebury. Less than a minute later, Tarasai Karega ’09 scored her 10th goal of the season on a beautiful feed from Lindsey Harrington ’09.
“I had just come off the bench and Lindsey made a perfect pass in transition. I kind of had a jump of the defense already. I split the D, the goalie came up to challenge, and I just went to the back-hand and slid it in,” said Karega in the post-game press conference.
For the next few minutes of the period, scoring opportunities remained scarce for both teams. However, Amherst was given the opportunity to increase its lead with four minutes remaining in the first period, when a Middlebury forward was whistled for hooking. Once again, Amherst made the best of the opportunity, notching a goal to make the Jeffs two for two on the power play. Karega passed the puck to sophomore defender Julia Koch, who took a wrist shot from the top of the circle. Timing it perfectly, Stephanie Clegg ’12 then passed in front of the Middlebury goaltender, Alexi Bloom, screening her. Bloom never saw the puck, and the shot hit the upper-right corner at the back of the net.
Middlebury, playing in front of a supportive home crowd, managed to keep the game close, scoring on a power play early in the second period. Ten minutes later, though, Amherst got the goal back: after another penalty was called on Middlebury, sophomore forward Megan Curry, who had a brilliant post-season, converted for Amherst, knocking home a Karega shot on net to make the Jeffs three-for-three on the power play.
After the game, Amherst Head Coach Jim Plumer hailed his team’s ability to create traffic in front of the Middlebury net, which was key to the power play’s success all night. In the third period, Middlebury’s Cellino once again narrowed the score, 3-2, on a shot from the point on yet another power play. Amherst was able to hold on, however, winning the third out of their four encounters with Middlebury this year. All five goals were scored on power plays. “It says a lot about the goaltending on both teams that it was difficult to score five on five,” said Plumer.
Earlier that day, Elmira College, winner of the ECAC West conference title, beat Wisconsin River-Falls 3-0 in the other NCAA semifinal.
On Saturday night, the Jeffs took to the ice for their first-ever appearance in the National Championship final. There, they faced off against the Elmira College Soaring Eagles, the team that knocked Amherst out of the NCAA tournament in the first round last year. In the teams’ past three meetings, spanning the last two seasons, every game has been an exciting, one-goal affair. This game was no different.
The emotional rollercoaster began with a shaky start from the Jeffs, who seemed a little nervous during the opening period. The women took four penalties in the first period, two of which contributed to Elmira’s first goal, which came on a 5-on-3 power play.
In the second period, however, the Jeffs started to play their game. Taking advantage of the enormous Middlebury ice surface, the Jeffs used their speed to take the momentum right out from under the Soaring Eagles. Amherst’s first goal came on a faceoff just three minutes into the period. After Harrington won the faceoff in the Elmira zone, Courtney Hanlon ’11 took a step across the circle and fired it into the net. Later, the Jeffs scored again when Emily Vitale ’12 streaked down the ice and took the puck wide into the zone and behind the net. After stopping, she fed the puck out in front of the net to Karega, who found Dennett wide open and able to bury the puck in the back of the net.
In the third period, however, the momentum again shifted. Elmira got right back in the game with a goal just two and a half minutes into the period to tie the score at two. With nine minutes left in the third, the Eagles scored again, this time off of a rocket from the point that managed to find the top corner of the net. The ensuing celebration from Elmira was spirited, and it looked like they had sealed the deal.
However, the seasoned Jeffs refused to give up. With only 2:18 remaining in the game, Amherst rallied to tie the game. With a scramble in front of the net, Karega popped the puck across the crease, Dennett pulled the puck out of the pile and passed it back to Zukas, who had sunk down to just below the hashmarks. Her shot, aimed at the top corner, was tipped by the goalie and landed on the stick of a wide-open Vitale, who then smashed home the rebound from the top of the crease to keep the Jeffs’ dream of a title alive. The final two minutes of regulation were frantic, but neither team was able to break the tie, and the championship game headed to overtime.
Entering the extra period, the momentum seemed to be on the Jeffs’ side. After Elmira was called for two consecutive penalties early on, Amherst found itself with a 5-on-3 advantage, but the Jeffs were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Throughout the contest, All-American goaltender Krystyn Elek ’10 was solid in net for the Jeffs, stopping 21 of the shots sent her way during regulation and all four shots in the overtime period.
Finally, after 12:22 of overtime, an exhausted Amherst team broke the stalemate. Dennett cruised down the wing with the puck and, finding herself all alone, faked out a defender and took a long wrist shot from the top of the circle. The goalie made the initial save but then fumbled it, and Dennett was right there to poke home her own rebound. She was mobbed by her teammates on the ice, while the rest of the team came pouring off the bench, throwing stick and gloves into the air in celebration.
After the game, in the post-game press conference, Plumer spoke about the game and about his team’s ability to remain mentally strong despite the ups and downs during the game. “The momentum swings in that game were so enormous and I am incredibly proud of this group for the amount of heart that they showed.”
The game was particularly special for the Jeffs' four seniors: tri-captains Julie Radziewicz and Harrington, Karega and Anna MacLean. When they arrived at Amherst four years ago, winning a National Championship didn't seem like a possibility. The program was improving, but the team was missing a number of significant pieces to the puzzle. A couple of years—and hours and hours of practice—later, the four helped complete the team’s journey from NESCAC bottom-feeder to the Div. III national champion.
And with a remarkably strong group of underclassman to fill the seniors’ void, the Amherst women's hockey team is not likely to go down as a one-hit wonder. "We're showing that we belong," said Coach Plumer after the Jeff's semifinal win over Middlebury. With this weekend’s National Championship victory, the rest of the women's hockey world would have to agree.