Women's hockey crushes Bowdoin

Author: Alex Lovett-Woodsum

The Panthers returned from their Maine road trip victorious, with NESCAC wins over both Colby College and Bowdoin College this weekend, bringing them to a solid 5-1-1 overall NESCAC record.

Friday's victory against Colby was a nailbiter, with forward Erika Nakamura '09 scoring a goal at 8:34 in the first period with help from Heather McCormack '10 and Nora Bergman '11, and Molly Vitt '09 putting one in at 13:59 in the second period with assists from Grace Waters '12 and Anna McNally '11. Junior goaltender Lani Wright '10 managed to hold the Mules to one goal in the third period to secure the win for the Panthers.

The Panthers proceeded to trounce Bowdoin on Saturday with a decisive 8-1 victory. Vitt came out strong and scored a goal 1:29 minutes into the first period and assisted on three more before the period ended. Bergman scored twice in the first, and defenseman Molly West '10 earned her first career goal to round out the period. First-year Corey Cooper '12 scored the lone goal in the second period to give the Panthers a 5-0 lead.

Haley MacKeen '12 scored her first career goal for the Panthers early in the third period, followed by a goal by Bowdoin's Kate Pokrass to end the shutout. A third Panther first career goal belonged to Jamie Harisiades '12 in the third period, followed by McNally scoring one more goal on the powerplay late in the third period to wrap up the game.

Panther goaltenders Lexi Bloom '11 and Becca Shaw '12 combined for 21 saves, with Bloom letting up the lone Bowdoin goal in the third period. The standout performances for the weekend were certainly by points leader Vitt, who tallied six points over the weekend, and Bergman, who had four points.

"This weekend's games were great for us. We had quite a few career first goals, Nora and Molly played great hockey, and the team worked well together to earn two decisive wins," said goaltender Wright. "The team is really starting to come together as a group, and the freshmen are starting to step up and contribute a lot on and off the ice."

The Panthers are currently ranked third in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online poll and number two in the NESCAC behind Amherst. The squad looks forward to playing a strong 7-2 Trinity team next weekend that is nipping at their heels.

"If we keep playing the way we are, we should have a great two games against Trinity and continue to improve throughout the rest of the season and hopefully beat the teams we struggled against earlier."

Hopefully the team can use its momentum to secure February wins over both Plattsburgh and Connecticut College, whom they tied, and the strong Amherst team who handed the team its only loss this season.

The way the Panthers are continually improving has them poised to be strong contender for a national championship once again this year, as they are eager to bring home another title.