AMHERST — The No. 2 Amherst College women’s hockey team was upset by No. 8 Norwich, 2-0, in a nationally ranked clash at Orr Rink on Wednesday night.
The loss counted as the Mammoths’ first defeat on home ice in exactly two years, after going undefeated at home (15-0-0) during the 2024-25 season. Wesleyan beat Amherst, 2-1, on Jan. 21, 2024.
The Cadets continued their recent success against the Mammoths, notching their fourth win in the previous six contests between the two teams–dating back to March 11, 2020–with their rugged defense leading the way on Wednesday.
“They’re a good, fast team, well-coached team who came in here and really wanted it,” Amherst head coach Jeff Matthews said. “I thought they played like they wanted it more and they outcompeted us tonight. We had some chances, didn’t finish, but it’s hard to win. You got to create a lot of zone time and a lot of chances to maximize your percentage for victory and they played a great game.”
The Mammoths were held to 25 shots throughout the 60-minute bout, 12 fewer than Norwich’s final tally (37).
Wednesday’s loss was also the first time Amherst had been held scoreless in a game since Nov. 19, 2022, a 2-0 defeat to Hamilton.
The Mammoths entered Wednesday’s game on just two days rest following a draining series against then-No. 4 Middlebury at Orr Rink. Amherst lost in a shootout in the first game on Saturday, before sealing a 3-1 victory Sunday afternoon in the rivalry weekend split.
“We didn’t bring the energy that we needed to [Wednesday] and I think part of that is coming off of a really tough weekend,” Matthews said. “Some big wins, really, really fast-paced, hard-fought games over Middlebury on Saturday and Sunday. It was a tough part of our schedule, which was challenging, facing another top-10 team a few days later and we didn’t meet the challenge.”
The Cadets, on the other hand, had an extra day off, last playing on Saturday. Norwich took that one with a 4-0 win against Keene State.
Wednesday night, Norwich scored its first goal right around the midway point of the game during the second period. Geena Cookinham buried a loose puck around the Mammoths crease at 12:06 of the second to go ahead, 1-0.
Amherst’s best chances at potting the equalizer didn’t come until the third, when it received a pair of power play opportunities early on in the frame. The Mammoths mustered three shots throughout those two man-advantages, but couldn’t solve Cadets goalie Madison Brunet, before Breanna Ricker flicked in an empty-netter with less than a minute left, locking down the 2-0 final score for Norwich (15-2-0).
“I actually thought we got a few looks on the power play, a few good shots on net from the slot and their goalie made some good saves,” Matthews said. “And that’s when, if you’re not playing your best, sometimes your power play can pick you up and find a way. We have found a way in several games this year, but we didn’t find a way today to claw our way back into it and win.”
Amherst concluded the loss 0-for-3 on the power play.
Natalie Stott, the Mammoths’ senior starting goalie and captain, collected 35 saves in the losing effort.
“The one player that stood out was Natalie Stott,” Matthews said. “I thought she made a lot of big saves to give us a chance to win. Unfortunately, she was probably the only one tonight. It didn’t go our way.”
Next up for Amherst (10-1-3) is a weekend home set against Wesleyan, starting Saturday, Jan. 24.
