The women's hockey team dominated on the ice, crushing Mount Allison University in a pair of games last week. The Polar Bears overpowered the Canadian Mounties 3-1 in the first game, and 4-1 in the second game. The victories followed their losses to NESCAC rivals Connecticut College and Amherst.
For the Bears, their success against Mount Allison gave them confidence as they look ahead to the remainder of their season.
"Mt. A's is consistently one of the best teams in Canada, so we knew it was going to be a tough game from the start," Shana Natelson '10 said. "Earning two wins definitely gave us some confidence."
In the first game against Mount Allison, first year Dominique Lozzi '12 scored twice, leading the Polar Bears to victory.
Maria Nicolais '10 scored the third goal, giving the Bears a little extra cushion. First year Sage Santangelo also proved impressive, stopping 24 shots while in goal.
In the second game, the Bears kept up the momentum defeating the Mounties 4-1. Lozzi again scored twice for the Bears, while Chelsea Young '11 and co-captain Julia King '09 scored the additional goals.
Lozzi reflected on her four goals.
"As a freshman, you really just want to find your role on the team and help the team win in any way you can. It was nice to score, but it wasn't without the hard work of my linemates and a complete team effort."
The victories against Mount Allison demonstrated the Bears' ability to bounce back following their losses to Connecticut College and Amherst. The Bears fell to Connecticut College 4-2, and to Amherst 6-1.
"We played really hard in our games against Connecticut and Amherst and learned a lot about what we needed to work on over the past two weeks," Nicolais said.
The games against Mount Allison also marked the first time the team played with their full roster. Coming fresh out of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey National Championship, King, Lindsay McNamara '09, Emileigh Mercer '09, Emily Neilson '11 and Katie Herter '12 skated on the ice for the first time this season. King led the way for the Bears in the second game, scoring one of the team's four goals.
"It was the first game back for the field hockey girls, but by the second period of the first game, everyone was clicking with each other and executing the systems really well," Natelson said.
Having the field hockey players back will certainly help the Bears as they head into future games.
"Now that we have a full roster we are learning to play with one another so that we will be able to capitalize on all the opportunities," Nicolais said.
The Bears are excited to maintain their energy as they prepare to play Colby this Saturday.
"We brought a lot of intensity to these games, so it will be great to bring that same intensity this weekend," Lozzi said.
"Everyone gets pumped up for the Colby game," Natelson added. "After gaining a bit of momentum from last weekend's wins and a great week of practice, I think it will be quite the game up in Waterville on Saturday."