The Amherst women’s hockey team continued its dominant season this weekend with two wins over rival Williams. The wins kept Amherst at second place in the highly competitive NESCAC, still trailing behind first place Middlebury. The Jeffs’ in-conference record is an impressive 9-1-2. Their overall record stands 14-2-3. Two different national coaching polls have placed the Jeffs at No. 9 and No. 7 in the country.
Williams entered the weekend ranked just behind Amherst, with a record of 5-3-2. The Ephs’ losses on Friday and Saturday at Orr Rink bumped them down the rankings to fifth in the conference. The NESCAC rankings remain crucial in the upcoming weeks as the regular season comes to a close and home-rink advantage is decided for conference post-season play.
“Our league has gotten so competitive from top to bottom,” head coach Jeff Matthews said. “With Williams being one of the top teams in our league, defending NESCAC champs and our biggest rival, the challenge was even that much greater this past weekend. We are grateful for coming out on top in both games.”
On Friday night, the Jeffs skated to a 2-0 victory over the Ephs. Senior captain Tori Salmon, also the team’s leading scorer, scored for the Jeffs. Emma Greise ’18 and Caitlyn Ryan ’17 fed Salmon the puck. A few minutes later, Amherst attacked the Williams defense once again. Erin Martin ’16 fired a shot at the Ephs goalie, which rebounded to Brenna Sullivan ’18. Sullivan corralled the rebound and shot the puck to give Amherst a two-goal lead.
Sullivan has been a key component to the Jeffs’ offense all season, as she is often able to find scoring opportunities from many places on the ice. Her nine-goal total this season leaves her tied for second in the category with teammate Emily Flom ’15. Salmon leads the team with 15 goals.
The first-year commented on her impact performances. “It’s obviously fun to score goals that help my team get the win, but one of the major reasons I am able to score is because of the help from my line mates and the other people on the ice with me,” she said.
The first period ended with the Jeffs up 2-0. The second period featured spurts of excitement as Williams attempted to fight back. The Ephs had the advantage in shots in the second frame, but the Jeffs’ defense remained staunch. Goalie Yuna Evans ’17 recorded eight saves during the second period and 34 for the duration of the game. The end of the second period was especially trying, as the Jeffs found themselves in a man-down situation for five minutes. The penalty extended into the third period, but Williams could not take advantage. The game ended as the first period did, with the Jeffs up 2-0.
With one victory already under their belts, the Jeffs were fired up to send Williams home definitively. On Saturday, unlike the previous matchup, the Jeffs could not find the back of the net early. The first period whisked by with neither team finding good scoring opportunities. The Jeffs outshot the Ephs in the first period 13-9.
“Offensively, goals are hard to come by in a league like ours, especially when you face a team with a hot goalie,” Matthews said. “With the paces of the games being what they were, there wasn’t a lot of space or time on the ice to be fancy.”
Moving into the second period, the Jeffs wasted little time getting on the board. Ryan fired a shot off of the Williams goalie, which first-year Emma Greise was able to gather and slip into the net. The goal was scored just 35 seconds into the second period. With the 0-0 tie broken, both teams bumped up the pressure. Ten minutes after Greise’s goal, another first-year, Alex Toupal, tipped in a shot by Lynndy Smith ’17. The score would remain 2-0 for the rest of the game, securing another Amherst win. Evans proved stalwart once again notching 24 saves in the game.
“Scoring chances were hard to come by, and on many occasions, both goalies were there to make big saves. Overall, we were very happy with our defensive effort,” Matthews said. “This time of year, games are typically low-scoring affairs in our league, especially in big games.”
With Saturday’s win, the Jeffs closed out their series against Williams. “The top moment of the weekend was the fact that the team battled hard for all six periods, which is what it takes to beat a team like Williams twice,” coach Matthews said. “We were very proud of how everyone contributed to the success of our group. It was a total team effort, both days.”
Additionally, Evans was graced with individual honors for her impressive weekend. The sophomore goalie was named women’s ice hockey NESCAC player of the week this past Monday, Feb. 9.
“Yuna played amazing,” classmate Caitlin Ryan remarked. “She definitely kept us in the game and we couldn’t have had such a great weekend without her between the pipes.”
The team effort will need to continue if the Jeffs want to see success in the postseason. The next two weekends are booked with NESCAC opponents. Amherst will have to win these games to stay atop the NESCAC and earn home-rink advantage for the NESCAC quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 28.
“We just have to keep trying to improve and fine tune different parts of our game,” Matthews said. “To win games this time of year, you have to stay healthy and energized, and be focused and in the moment when you step on the ice.”
The Jeffs travel to Trinity this weekend for two games. They return back to Orr Rink on Feb. 28 against Bowdoin.
