Contact: Justin Long
AMHERST, Mass. – The fifth-ranked Amherst College men's hockey team got 37 saves from Jonathan La Rose '12 and a goal and an assist from Aaron Deutsch '15 during a 3-1 win over 15th-ranked Bowdoin College Friday evening at Orr Rink.
The teams were tied at 1-1 after two periods of physical play, but the Jeffs scored twice at even strength in the final frame to improve to 15-3-1 (12-1-0 NESCAC) on the season. Mike Moher '13 helped pace the Amherst offense with three assists on the night.
The Polar Bears had their unbeaten streak snapped at seven games, dropping to 11-5-2 overall and 8-3-2 in conference play.
Bowdoin held a commanding 29-13 advantage in shots on goal during the first two periods, but La Rose (11-1-1) kept Amherst in the game with phenomenal play between the pipes. The Jeffs would out-shoot the Polar Bears in the third by a 10-9 margin, as Steve Messina '14 (6-4-1) finished with 20 saves for the visitors.
The Jeffs got on the board 10:39 into the game when they capitalized on a 5-on-3 situation. After Jamie Hawkrigg '13 had his shot blocked by a Bowdoin defenseman, Deutsch collected the loose puck and beat Messina glove-side to stake the hosts a 1-0 lead.
The Polar Bears had 1:34 of a 5-on-3 advantage later in the period, but La Rose came up with five of his saves to help the Jeffs kill both penalties. With only 1:53 remaining in the period, though, Bowdoin tied the game at 1-1 when Harry Matheson '14 scored on the power play while La Rose was screened.
The second period began with six men in the penalty box, as the opening 20 minutes featured a combined 13 penalties. Each team would commit only one infraction in the second period, but neither was able to capitalize on the power play.
Both goalies came up big in the final five minutes of the middle frame, with Messina denying Andrew Kurlandski '14 and La Rose coming up with a glove save on a good attempt by Daniel Weiniger '13.
Amherst's second goal began to take shape when forward Johnny Van Siclen '13 sprinted from his attacking zone all the way back to La Rose's crease, clearing the puck out of harm's way and sending the Jeffs back on the attack. After Mark Colp '12 dug the puck out along the boards, Hawkrigg sent a pass over to Elliot Bostrom '14, whose shot made its way to the back of the net as Messina was screened.
Bostrom's go-ahead goal came with 8:48 remaining in regulation, and Colp needed less than three minutes to give the Jeffs a 3-1 cushion. After a give-and-go resulted in a save by Messina, the puck bounced out to Colp, who immediately put an attempt back on net and snuck a chip shot underneath the crossbar with 5:56 to play.
Bowdoin called a timeout with 1:43 on the clock and pulled Messina shortly after, but La Rose finished the final period with nine saves for his 11th win of the season. La Rose is 5-0 since Amherst's 7-4 loss to Bowdoin back in early January, stopping 129 of 131 shots (.985) during the dominant stretch.
The Polar Bears remained in second place in the NESCAC standings, but the first-place Lord Jeffs increased their lead to three games. Both teams will return to action tomorrow at 3 p.m., with Amherst set to host Colby and Bowdoin traveling to take on Hamilton.
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