Women’s Hockey 3-1 To Start Season
Coming off a season that ended with a loss in the NESCAC Final, the women’s hockey team has started this year strong, winning three of their first four games.
After a 2021-2022 season that saw women’s hockey reach the NESCAC championship game (losing 2-0 to Middlebury College), the team has begun the 2022-2023 season hot, winning three out of their first four games. They split a pair against conference rival Hamilton College and beat two out-of-conference foes.
On Friday, Nov. 18, the No. 11-ranked Mammoths opened their campaign by hosting No. 15-ranked Hamilton. In a heavyweight matchup, the Mammoths prevailed, crushing the Continentals 4-0. And just like last season, Amherst found success on special teams, opening the scoring with a power-play goal. Senior Leslie Schwartz ’23 carried the puck to the top of the circle and took a hard slap shot that junior transfer Mary Thompson ’24 tipped into the goal to open her Amherst account. At the end of that same period, classmate Jayna Park ’24 settled a bouncing puck in the slot and fired home a quick wrister, giving the Mammoths a 2-0 lead to start the game. After a penalty on the Mammoths, their special teams again came up big. This time, it was the penalty kill, as Maeve Reynolds ’26 gained possession in Amherst’s zone and found Rylee Glennon ’24 streaking down the center for a breakaway. Glennon faked left and ripped the puck in the back of the net for a shorthanded goal and a 3-0 lead. The Mammoths iced the game by way of a rebound off the Hamilton goaltender at the end of the second period that Kate Pohl ’23 finished to take a 4-0 lead.
Despite momentum from the first game of the season, Hamilton bounced back on Saturday, Nov. 19, to win 2-0. First-year goaltender Natalie Stott ’26 kept the Mammoths in the game with nine first period saves. However, despite outshooting the Continentals, the Mammoths went down 1-0 early in the second period. With just four minutes remaining in the game and the Mammoths still down by one, Hamilton put another goal away to end the game at 2-0.
Amherst, now 1-1-0 in the conference (and overall), then traveled to Maine to face the University of New England on Tuesday, Nov. 22. After playing to a tie in the first period, with the first goal of the game, and the first of her collegiate career, from Emily Hohmann ’26, quick passes from Thompson and Marie-Eve Marleau ’26 found Park in the slot, who fired past the UNE goalie to take a 2-1 lead. After more quick passing and possession from Amherst, shots by Pohl and by Marleau were blasted past the UNE goaltender just two minutes apart to widen the margin. The Nor’Easters put one away in a power play shortly after, but another strong shot by Pohl shortly thereafter ended the comeback attempt, and the game, with a whopping 5-2 win.
On Sunday, Nov. 27, the Mammoths ended the break with a close 1-0 win against the Manhattanville College Valiants. After a scoreless beginning period, the Mammoths bounced back in the second, firing away an eye-popping 29 shots. With that many opportunities, one was bound to go in, and Reynolds put away her second goal of the season at the 11:48 mark to give Amherst the lead. They would not give it up, and despite being unable to pot another, they left Purchase, New York with a win, 1-0.
Amherst will play their second NESCAC opponent this weekend, taking on No. 1 Middlebury College on the road at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3.
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