NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's ice hockey team dropped a NESCAC contest to Amherst by a 4-1 decision on Saturday afternoon at Dayton Arena.
 
The two teams, who were both playing for the first time since returning from a holiday break, played through a quiet and evenly matched first period. There were no goals, no penalties called, and the Mammoths held a narrow 8-6 edge in shots.
 
Amherst, however, came out flying in the second and outshot the hosts by a 12-3 margin in the frame. Camel netminder Abby Wieczorek (Winnetka, Ill.) came up with some huge stops, beginning by stuffing a breakaway opportunity by Anna Baxter with over 13 minutes remaining on the clock.
 
After a 2-on-1 with senior Sydney Jones (Lucas, Texas) and freshman Claire Sammons (Naperville, Ill.) was unsuccessful on the ensuing transition play, Wieczorek came through again to keep the game scoreless. With two Mammoth players coming in all alone, Wieczorek extended her stick to deny a shot by Angelina Wiater that was headed inside the right post, and the ensuing rebound attempt on the open net with the Camel netminder down on the ice was also unsuccessful.
 
But about a minute after Wieczorek's acrobatic attempts to keep the Mammoths off the scoreboard, they finally cashed in on their numerous opportunities with exactly seven minutes left in the frame. Baxter won the puck along the boards on a non-icing situation thanks to contact at center ice on a dump, skated around the right side, and then found an open Carley Daly on the left porch for the score.
 
Amherst (3-5, NESCAC 1-4), which carried its 1-0 lead into the second intermission, then doubled its margin at the 5:56 mark of the third by capitalizing on its first power play. Rylee Glennon potted the puck from the left corner after receiving passes from blue liners Avery Flynn and Leslie Schwartz.
 
The Mammoths used the momentum to score two more goals to take a commanding 4-0 advantage, but the Camels were able to get on the board before it was over. Freshman Kylie McCarthy (Dedham, Mass.) started the play from the left point by sending the puck along the boards to junior Melanie Conca (Nutley, N.J.), who maintained possession and then found senior Melissa Alexander (Bellingham, Mass.) for a strike. However, the four-goal deficit would be too much for the hosts to overcome, and they were eventually dealt the 4-1 setback.
 
Caitlin Walker picked up the win for Amherst by making 12 saves, while Wieczorek took the loss despite stopping 28 shots.
 
Connecticut College (3-5-2, NESCAC 0-4) is next scheduled to visit Suffolk for a non-conference matchup on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m.