This weekend marked the end of the regular season for the Amherst women’s hockey team. The Jeffs traveled to Brunswick, Maine to face Bowdoin in a two game series. 10th-ranked Amherst succeeded in preserving the second seed in the NESCAC after going 1-1 on the weekend. The Jeffs departed Brunswick with a 13-6-5 overall record and a 9-3-4 mark in the conference.

In the Friday contest, Amherst ended a three game losing streak against the Polar Bears by pulling away with a 3-1 victory. The Jeffs outshot the Polar Bears 17-15 in the first two periods but were outshot 12-8 in the final frame. Amherst still came away victorious thanks to Kerri Stuart ’14 and her 26 stops.

Late in the second period, Courtney Baranek ’14 buried her own rebound to put the Jeffs up 1-0. However, the Polar Bears were quick to retaliate and the score was evened with just 30 seconds remaining in the second period.

Looking to gain the momentum back, Emily Flom ’15 put away her sixth goal of the year on a Melissa Martin ’15 pass just over a minute into the third period. Despite being outshot in the third, sophomore Eileen Harris capitalized on a rebound late in the game that provided a buffer for the Jeffs in the remaining three and a half minutes.

When the two teams returned to action Saturday afternoon, the Jeffs outshot Bowdoin 33-19, including 15-4 in the final frame, but they were unable to come away with a win. Bowdoin scored early on in the first period after an unlucky deflection made its way past Amherst netminder Yuna Evans ’17. The first-year would have 14 saves before Stuart closed out the remainder of the game with an additional four saves.

In the second period, Anne Gillard ’15 skated her way past the Bowdoin defense to create a scoring opportunity, but Bowdoin goalie, Lan Crofton, robbed her of a goal. With 33 saves on the night, Crofton continued to turn away other dangerous attempts, including strong efforts by Madeline Tank ’15 and Harris, to earn her first shutout.

After the 1-0 loss, Amherst looks to bounce back against seventh-seeded Colby at home on March 1 at 1 p.m. in the first round of NESCAC play.

“It is a huge game, and I think we are going into the weekend with a lot of confidence. Now that we are into the postseason, everything that happened during the season is irrelevant — anything can happen in playoffs,” Baranek said.

“Every point this season was hard earned, which is great, because it makes for fun and exciting hockey. We simply want to keep playing as long as we can. Every game from here on out will be extremely intense and fun to be a part of”, Coach Matthews added.