Although campus was fairly quiet over interterm, the women’s ice hockey team remained loud and on fire during the three-week break. The Jeffs went 5-0-2 over interterm, bringing their season record to 11-1-3. The break moved Amherst up to the top of the NESCAC rankings ahead of opponents Middlebury and Connecticut College. The Jeffs’ impressive run has also caught the attention of national rankings. The last D3hockey.com poll had Amherst ranked at No. 8, while the USCHO.com ranking has the Jeffs at No. 6. If their interterm record was not impressive enough, the Jeffs were able to win all of their games on the road throughout the winter break.. The Jeffs opened up interterm right after ringing in the new year by playing two non-conference opponents, Holy Cross and Southern Maine. The Jeffs beat Holy Cross on Jan. 3 with a score of 3-1 and Southern Maine on Jan. 4 with a score of 3-2.
The following weekend, the team engaged in NESCAC competition with two away games against the Colby College Mules. The trio of Erin Martin ’16, Emily Flom ’15 and Brenna Sullivan ’18 were potent in the first game. Flom scored the first goal in the first period assisted by Martin and Sullivan, while Martin found the back of the net minutes later with Flom and Sullivan assisting. Sophomore Caitlyn Ryan also scored in the second period to lift the Jeffs to a 3-1 win in the first game. In the second game against Colby, senior captain Tori Salmon scored both goals in a 2-1 victory for the Jeffs.
The team’s winning ways continued into the weekend of Jan. 16 in back-to-back games against NESCAC rival Middlebury. Middlebury had ranked higher than Amherst in both national polls. In the opening game on Friday night, Middlebury had a 1-0 lead moving into the second period. Flom evened the score in the second period off the right post. The score remained tied into the third period. On a power play midway through the third, Lynndy Smith ’17 broke through a crowd to put the Jeffs up by one. Middlebury answered quickly with another goal.
The game moved to overtime where neither team could manage a score. The story looked much the same the next night at Middlebury. Martin put the Jeffs on the board first, but a third period goal by the Panthers put the game in overtime once again. Shots were hard to come by, and the Jeffs left the game with another tie.
Looking to rebound after two tough matchups against Middlebury, Amherst faced another out-of-conference opponent on the road. Amherst took on Nichols College on Jan. 20, and rebound they did. The Jeffs notched eight goals, propelling them to a 8-1 victory. Amherst took little time getting onto the scoreboard, finding the net three times in the opening period.
However, they did not stop to rest on their laurels. The second period featured three more goals. Finally, the Jeffs scored another two in the final period. Many of the Jeffs key players factored into the goals including Salmon with two goals and an assist, Flom with a goal and an assist, Martin with one goal and three assists and Smith with a goal and an assist. Eileen Harris ’16 also scored her second goal of the season off an assist by Audrey Duquette ’17.
Due to Winter Storm Juno, the Jeffs will not return to their home ice of Orr Rink until Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m.., hosting Conn. College for a weekend, two game set. The teams will play again on Sunday at 3 p.m. This will be Amherst’s third annual “Pink The Rink” game, with proceeds benefitting the Cancer Connection of Northampton.
