The two NESCAC rivals split the games, as the Jeffs took the first on Friday night by a one-goal margin before their opponents got revenge the following evening in a one-goal defeat.
On Friday, the Jeffs opened the series against the Polar Bears slowly, giving up a penalty early in the first period. Bowdoin, unlike most of the Jeffs’ opponents this season, was able to fully utilize its man-advantage and took a quick 1-0 lead just 1:38 into the game. Jumping into action, the Jeffs upped their level of play and went on to outshoot their opponents 13-4 in that period alone but weren’t able to get the puck past Bowdoin goaltender Tara Connelly until the start of the second period when senior Courtney Hanlon fired one in, assisted by sophomore Geneva Lloyd. Lloyd came up big for the Jeffs just a few minutes later at the end of a long power play when she fired one over Connelly’s left shoulder to tie the contest at 1-1.
Bowdoin made it a tie game once again at 12:04 of that period, slamming a rebound right in front of Amherst goaltender Caroline Hu, and the score held through to the final frame. It was there that Lloyd put her signature on the game with her second goal of the night, scoring a power play goal off of a rebound to take the lead for her team, which held until the final buzzer to grant the Jeffs the 3-2 win. Despite the close score, the women outshot their opponents 41-15 and were able to cash in on two power-play opportunities.
On Saturday, the Polar Bears looked determined from the outset to write the script along different lines: they held their higher-ranked opponents scoreless in the first period, and while Amherst outshot them 11-5, the Polar Bears were able to apply some pressure on Hu. The score stayed locked for almost 30 minutes before the Polar Bears scored on a wraparound halfway through the second. Before the period was over, Bowdoin doubled its lead as Kayte Holtz slammed home a rebound.
In the third, the Jeffs stepped up their game again, finally answering the Polar Bears’ surge with a goal of their own off the stick of Hanlon, who redirected a rebounded shot from junior Stephanie Clegg into the back of the net. The equalizer did not come, however, as Bowdoin ended its 10-game losing streak against the Jeffs.
The women will return to action on Friday, when they host archrival Williams College at 7 p.m. in Orr Rink.