Courtesy Amherst Sports Information

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. – The top-seeded Amherst College women’s ice hockey team opened up the 2010 NESCAC Championship Saturday afternoon against No. 8 seed Colby College at Orr Rink. The Lord Jeffs avenged their only conference loss of the season in the quarterfinal round game, earning the right to host next weekend’s semifinals and final with a record-setting 10-1 win over the White Mules.

The game set three NESCAC championship records, with the most goals scored in a game by a team (10), combined (11), and the most goals scored in a period (8 by Amherst in the second).

Colby’s season comes to an end with the loss, finishing the year with a 3-17-5 (1-12-3) record.

Amherst had the first two scoring chances of the game, coming from leading goal-scorer, Courtney Hanlon (Fullerton, Calif.) and Randi Zukas (Glen Head, N.Y.). Six and half minutes into the first period, Hanlon broke in alone from the blue line, and after slowing to let a Mule defender fly by, lifted a wrist shot that was saved by Colby goaltender Loni Pisani (Kanata, Ontario). With just under 11 minutes remaining, Zukas’s slap shot from the point just seconds into Amherst’s first power-play of the game hit the crossbar.

Seconds after the Colby power play expired, Amherst senior tri-captain Kate Dennett (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) made her way through the Colby defense by pulled a snap shot just wide of Pisani’s left post. With 6:55 remaining in the first period, Amherst went on the power play once again. Seven seconds into the power play, Geneva Lloyd (Calgary, Alberta) scored on a slap shot from the right point off an assist from Zukas.

At the end of the first period, Amherst held just a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard, but had an 18-2 edge in shots on goal in the frame. Colby started the second period on the power play, but shortly after Amherst killed off the penalty senior Michelle McGann (New Berlin, Wis.) scored her eighth goal of the season, and the eventual game-winner, on a redirection effort in front of Pisani. The assists on Amherst’s second goal went to Josie Fisher (Norwich, Vt.) and Emily Vitale (Cheshire, Conn.).

Amherst extended its lead to 3-0 as Stephanie Clegg (Woburn, Mass.) finished off a goal on assists from Hanlon and Dennett. The score was Clegg’s eighth of the season, and came at the 7:08 mark of the second period. Minutes later, the Lord Jeff advantage grew to 4-0 as Fisher broke in all alone on Pisani. Fisher went in one-on-one with Pisani without another skater even past the blue line, and put a few quick moves on the Mule goaltender before sliding a shot five hole for the score. Less than two minutes later, Hanlon lifted a rebound into the top of Pisani’s net on a rebound effort to put Amherst on top 5-0.

Following Hanlon’s score, Colby called a timeout, and head coach David Vendetti rallied the Mules. Just 19 seconds after play re-started, Colby’s Stephanie Scarpato (Osterville, Mass.) grabbed one back from Amherst, and ended Amherst goalie Caroline Hu’s (Cerritos, Calif.) bid for a shutout. Amherst refused to let the Mules back into the game though, and responded with its sixth goal of the game on a great redirection by Ellen Swiontkowski (Minnetonka, Minn.) just half a minute later.

With 5:35 remaining in the second, Vitale scored Amherst’s sixth goal of the period, extended the Lord Jeff advantage to 7-1. Vitale’s score came from a hard angle on the behind Pisani, after Vitale had fallen to the ice and Pisani was caught off her line. In the final two and a half minutes of the stanza, Amherst added another two scores. Amherst’s seventh and eighth goals of the period came from Braidie Campbell (Surrey, British Columbia) and rookie Megan Doyen (Ortonville, Mich.) and send the Jeffs into the second intermission leading 9-1.

At 18:31 remaining in the third, Amherst took a 10-1 lead on another score by Campbell off assist by Fisher and Kirsten Dier (Appleton, Wis.).

The game finished with a final score of 10-1, as Amherst punched its ticket for next Saturday’s semifinals. Hu finished the night with 10 saves, before giving way to Sinead Murphy (Rochester, Minn.) who made three stops in the third period. Pisani made 30 saves in the loss.