WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—#3 Amherst pulled off a convincing victory this evening, downing the Ephs 5-1 with the help of a 3-goal third period. Williams was within one goal of the Lord Jeffs after two periods, but was unable to keep pace with the strong opposing offense.
It was Amherst who found their offensive rhythm first in the opening frame, notching the first goal of the game at the 13:21 mark. Amherst forward Emily Vitale (Cheshire, CT) took a pass in the right slot from teammate Avery Stone (Providence, RI). Vitale then wristed a shot over the blocker-side shoulder of Eph goalie
Chloe Billadeau (Chaska, MN), finding the back of the net just under the crossbar. Vitale was also aided by Courtney Baranek (West Babylon, NY).
The Ephs managed to kill off a penalty with six minutes of play remaining in the first, and then had a man-up chance of their own. At the 5:30 mark, Alyssa Veil (Eden Prairie, MN) toe-dragged around an Amherst defender for a one-on-one with the goalie, setting up their best scoring opportunity of frame. However, she could not capitalize, leaving the score at 1-0.
The Lord Jeffs extended their lead to two as an Eph powerplay expired at the 3:14 mark. During a Williams line change, Emily Flom (Grosse Point Farms, MI) passed the puck up to Baranek into Williams' defensive zone. Baranek wristed a shot that deflected off the post, hit Billadeau's back, and ricocheted into the goal. Barrett McBride (Glenview, IL) also recorded an assist off the goal.
Baranek's tally sent Amherst into the locker room with a commanding 2-0 lead. Head Coach Meghan Gillis elaborated on what the team discussed during the intermission: "We just talked about being smart in the D-zone and not throwing the puck away. Obviously Chloe was doing a good job of keeping us in it, making key saves when we needed it and then just trying to be smart in the D-zone so then we could get offensive chances."
After a pair of penalties on a Williams near-goal early in the frame left both teams shorthanded, the Lord Jeffs barraged the Ephs with some close calls. Baranek almost recorded her second goal of the game on a breakaway, when she wristed another shot that ricocheted off the post. The rebound was picked up by another Eph forward, but Billadeau made a blocker save to prevent the goal.
Billadeau made several great saves to keep Williams in the game to help the Ephs kill off their third penalty of the contest. With around 10:30 remaining in the frame, Billadeau made an impressive grab to deny yet another Amherst opportunity.
The Ephs got on the board with 9:05 to play in the second to close the Lord Jeffs' lead to 2-1. Cristina Bravi (Montreal, QC) won a faceoff in Amherst's defensive zone and drew the puck back to Kate Foley (Billerica, MA), who rocketed a shot from the point. Sophomore netminder Kerri Stuart (Tewksbury, MA) made the initial stop, but the puck deflected into senior captain Hannah Systrom's (Winchester, MA) stick. Systrom backhanded a shot that found the back of the net, and the Lord Jeffs suddenly found themselves holding a one-goal lead
Williams would find themselves down a skater once more in the frame, but for the 4th time of the night, the Ephs' penalty-kill unit successfully denied the Lord Jeffs from capitalizing on their man-up advantage.
It didn't take long for Amherst to regain their offensive momentum entering the final stanza. Following a fifth Eph penalty, the Lord Jeffs maximized their powerplay opportunity and struck again. After working the puck around the perimeter, Ellen Swiotkowski (Minnetonka, MN) sent the puck across the blue line to a waiting Stephanie Clegg (Woburn, MA) situated on the point. Clegg rifled a shot that deflected off a Williams stick and over Billadeau's blocker side shoulder. Geneva Lloyd (Calgary, AB) also contributed to the tally, which came 3:59 into the frame.
The merciless Amherst offense upped their lead again at the 13:03 mark, their fourth goal coming from Anne Gillard (Calgary, AB). She was set up by Tori Salmon (Batavia, NY). Continuing their offensive tirade, Amherst got on the board with 7:37 remaining in regulation. Salmon slid the puck across the ice to Flom, who fired the puck from the low left side past Billadeau to take a commanding four-goal lead. Hayley Opperman (Wayzata, MN) also contributed to the goal.
Flom's tally would be the last of the game, finalizing the score at 5-1. Billadeau finished the game with 21 saves for the Ephs, while Stuart turned away 13 Williams shots.
Gillis drew some positives from Ephs performance tonight, but acknowledged that they had a tough road for tomorrow's rematch. "I think whenever you play a great top-10 team like Amherst it just takes a little while to get over the fact that they are who they are. Just being excited that we can compete with some of the best teams in Division 3 and being excited about what we're going to do looking forward from that."
The Ephs (9-10 overall, 5-6 NESCAC) get the opportunity to take on the NESCAC leading Lord Jeffs tomorrow afternoon. Williams again hosts the contest, which is slated to start at 3 pm.
