Elizabeth Muirhead ‘20
Contributing Writer
Following an astonishing eight-nothing win this past Sunday against Mount Holyoke College, the Smith College Ice Hockey team (SCIH) solidified their three-game win streak, maintaining their undefeated status.
Last year, SCIH placed third of six in their division. Unfortunately, only the top two teams were eligible to continue onto the playoffs. This year the team is faster and more skilled; SCIH is poised for a better season and maybe a spot in the playoffs.
Their first game was against Colby-Sawyer. During the 2016-2017 season, Smith beat Colby-Sawyer 4-1 in November, the first time they played each other. But Smith lost in their second game against Colby-Sawyer 7-4 in late January. Historically, the teams were pretty evenly matched.
But this year SCIH managed to beat them 7 to 2 in November. The following game was against Keene State, who was historically a very skilled opponent. Last year SCIH lost against Keene State twice. But given all of the new skills and dynamic players, Smith managed to beat Keene State 5-2 for their second win of the season. Finally, this past weekend they beat Mount Holyoke College 8-0.
When asked what is making the team so successful this season, Raegan Stokes ’19 said “I think that we have a lot of really good new talent … I think that our offense is really strong with getting the puck on net and our defense is really good at keeping it in the offensive zone.”
A lot of the team’s success can be attributed to their powerful presence in the offensive zone. SCIH has enough skaters for three full offensive lines, each of which is anchored by an experienced player at center.
SCIH only has four regular defensemen on rotation, but they’re all experienced players who aren’t afraid to skate with the puck. Defender Sid Joyce-Farley ’20 has scored many goals and generated tons of scoring opportunities by stepping out of position to skate the puck the length of the ice.
The aggressive defensive style and the dynamic forward lines have been successful in front of the net thus far, but the team might need more power heading into their games this weekend.
SCIH has a massive double-header against Colby-Sawyer College on Dec. 19 and a game with an untested opponent, Norwich University on Dec. 10.
Last year, Smith faced two harsh losses against Norwich, who has had a very strong start to their season. They’ve also won their first three games this winter. They narrowly beat Dartmouth College in their first game 4-3; Dartmouth also happened to be their second game of the season, which they won again 3-1. In the third game, which is the most recent game on record, they crushed Colby-Sawyer 9-1.
Norwich will likely be the most challenging opponent that SCIH has faced so far, given their record and skill in past years. But Smith is a bigger, stronger and faster team than in the past; maybe they can extend their win streak a couple more games.
