This past weekend the Amherst men’s ice hockey team returned to Orr Rink for the first time in over a month. The Jeffs’ two victories against Colby and Bowdoin indicated that they were excited to be back in front of their home crowd.

“This past month has been a tough test for our team and we are all disappointed with our recent performance, and more generally speaking, our record so far in January. It has been difficult for us to play away from Orr rink for a full month, as we haven’t been able to get a steady rhythm going like we had in the earlier part of the season,” said Elliot Bostrom ’14 on the challenges posed by the team’s road trip.

On Friday night, the Mules of Colby traveled to Amherst for the Jeffs first game back at home.

The home side jumped out of the gates, with Topher Flanagan ’16 scoring the first goal of the game on a power play off of an assist from Andrew Kurlandski ’14. At the end of the period, Kurlandski put away a rebound to give Amherst a 2-0 lead heading into the second period.

Colby was able to take advantage of a power play halfway through the second, but Brendan Burke ’16 scored five minutes later to put Amherst back up by two. The assists went to pair of juniors, Jake Turrin and Mike Cashman.

The third period was dominated by Amherst as Conor Brown ’16, Patrick Arena ’16 and Chris Roll ’17 all found the back of the net. Colby managed to muster together one respectable offensive possession that ended in a pretty goal, but the Jeffs rolled to the 6-2 victory.

Saturday yielded equally positive results for Amherst, as they defeated Bowdoin in a very tightly contested matchup.

The first period was marked by plentiful scoring. Amherst struck first when Roll slid the puck into the back of the net off assists from Kurlandski and Mike Rowbotham ’15.

Bowdoin quickly scored the equalizer when a deflection found its way between the pipes. Brown regained the lead with a score coming off an assist from Brian Safstrom ’14. Erik Hansen ’14 extended the Amherst lead off a Kevin Ryder ’16 assist when he returned to the ice after serving time in the penalty box.

The Polar Bears weren’t finished yet though, as they narrowed the lead to one after managing to sneak a goal passed Dave Cunningham ’16. At the end of the first period, the Jeffs led 3-2.

The scoring slowed down in the second, but Bowdoin found the back of the net and tied the game up at three goals apiece by taking advantage of a five-on-three situation.

There wasn’t any more scoring until 6:12 into the third when Cashman took a nifty shot from the circle that went right by Bowdoin’s goaltender. Arena and Theo Hannah ’16 were credited with the assists on Cashman’s goal, which ended up being the game-winner.

Bowdoin regained hope during a five-minute power play. While they capitalized on an advantage situation earlier in the game, they were unable to do so this time. Cunningham made short work of Bowdoin’s offensive unit by flashing the leather and making a highlight reel save and Rowbotham scored the dagger with 16 seconds remaining when he buried the empty-netter.

Although Bowdoin managed to double Amherst’s shot count, Amherst was more efficient at converting their scoring opportunities.

Kurlandski was pleased with how his team responded against “two tough teams that had swept [Amherst] less than a month ago.”

“It is the second weekend in a row that we have put together two complete games and the results have returned our confidence both individually and collectively. Everyone on the team contributed this weekend and that is the only way a team can make a run at the end of the year,” he added.

After such a long road trip, the Jeffs were all glad to be back in familiar territory.

“It was great being back home. It’s terrific to see the student support and I know the guys appreciate it. I thought we competed well over the last two weekends. Our results have been positive when we’ve worked and our focus seems to be tied to our compete level,” Coach Arena said, “Cunningham has been excellent over the past four games, and I thought Turrin was very good on Friday and Kurlandski and Hannah were terrific on Saturday. As always, we’re excited for the stretch run.”

Tied with Trinity for No. 1 in the NESCAC, the Jeffs will look to add to their conference win count this weekend as they face off against Conn. College on Saturday, Feb. 15, and Tufts on Sunday, Feb. 16.

The team enters the final stage of the regular season with just four games remaining before the NESCAC tournament and hopes of making the NCAA tourney.