Women’s Hockey Tripped Up at Amherst, 5-1

AMHERST, Mass. – Three power play goals propelled Amherst over Suffolk women's hockey, 5-1, at Orr Arena on Thursday evening in a non-conference matchup.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1 | Amherst 5
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-14-1) | Amherst (15-4-4) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rams started out on the front foot, forcing three early saves from the Amherst goalie Caitlin Walker. From then, the Mammoths started to come alive putting pressure on Julia McLellan in the Rams net. McLellan was called into action five times within the first 10 minutes, including a point blank save during a Mammoth rush. 

Amherst would break the deadlock with 5:55 remaining in the opening period on the power play. With the extra skater, the Mammoths took the lead with Elza Laycock deflecting a Mia Del Rosso shot past McLellan through traffic to take a 1-0 lead.  

The hosts would quickly add a second goal through Jillian Mazzocca, just two and half minutes after the first goal. After winning the puck in the neutral zone, Ava Simoncelli played through Mazzocca who scored from the slot to push the Mammoths lead to two. Suffolk would rebound after the goal by killing off a Mammoths power play to end the first period.   

Out of the locker room, the Mammoths thought they pushed the lead to 3-0 if not for a spectacular McLellan save. With an Amherst skater wrapping around the net with the puck, McLellan spread wide and made a glove save, while on her back to preserve the 2-0 score line.  

The Rams continued to absorb Amherst pressure, with McLellan making a handful of saves. The Rams would cancel the Mammoths shutout midway through the 2nd period. After the puck was dumped into the Amherst defensive zone, Maddy Burton poked the puck away from an Amherst defenseman for a one-on-one with Walker. Burton calmly put the puck past Walker to halve the deficit to 2-1. 

The Rams had a similar opportunity shortly after when Madison Ricardo went through and forced a good save from Walker

Suffolk would have two powerplays, including a 5-on-3 for 12 seconds, but could not take advantage of the extra skaters. Julia Volpe had the best opportunity with a close-range effort that was knocked down in front of the net. 

Amherst would restore its two-goal cushion shortly before the end of the second period. In transition, a Mazzocca shot was knocked up into the air, which Simoncelli knocked down, and tucked under the outstretched McLellan. The goal pushed the score 3-1 with 3:40 remaining in the second period.  

Amherst tallied its fourth goal during a 5-3 advantage with under eight minutes to play in the third period. Mazzocca wristed effort would beat McLellen low to bring the score to 4-1. The Rams would follow with a power play of its own, but weren't able to get past Walker with the 5-on-4 opportunity. 

Before the clock would hit zero, Amherst would tac on another goal on the man-up chance. Simoncelli would record the final goal as the Mammoths held on to a 5-1 victory over Suffolk. 

NETMINDER NOTES

• McLellan made 31 saves on the evening.
• Walker stopped 20 attempts in between the pipes.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Burton provided the goal for the Rams.
• Volpe lead the Rams in shots on goal with four.
• The Mammoths held the edge on shots, 36-21. 
• The home team also had tallied more face-off wins, 36-21 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Amherst met for the first time. 
• Burton entered double figures in goals for the season with 10. Along with 10 assists, Burton is the second student-athlete in program history to sport double figures in goals and assists in a single season, alongside current volunteer assistant Tess Adams 
• who achieved the feat with 18 goals and 14 assists last season.
• Burton has recorded seven goals in her last seven games, accumulating 10 points during that span.
• Burton eclipsed 20 points for the season.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

COMING UP
Suffolk has one game left on its regular-season scheduled, Saturday's (Feb. 15) showdown with Plymouth State at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Rink. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.