The women's hockey team will take the ice at Watson Arena for its first home postseason game in four years on Saturday against Connecticut College, following another split against Williams and Middlebury last weekend.
As they faced off against Williams last Friday night, the Polar Bears found themselves in need of a win to secure a long-elusive home playoff game. With less than two minutes left in the game, the team clinched the back-and-forth affair when sophomore Kayte Holtz scored to give the Polar Bears a 4-3 win.
Williams' Eliza Foster scored the game's first goal four minutes into the first period, before two power play goals by Kendra Sweet '12 gave the Polar Bears a momentary lead. The Ephs evened the score in the second period, but Dominique Lozzi '12 scored to once again give the Polar Bears the edge. Although Williams answered again, Holtz's 24th goal of the season was enough to put the Polar Bears up for good.
In a game with numerous penalties, the Polar Bear's efficiency on the power play was a critical. The team finished 2-for-6 on such attempts, compared to the Ephs' 0-for-8. Tara Connolly '13 was once again stellar in goal, racking up 21 saves on the night.
The Polar Bears got off to a faster start in Saturday's game against Middlebury, as Holtz and Jill Campbell '11 gave the team a 2-0 advantage after the first period. However, Middlebury proceeded to score the game's final four goals en route to a 4-2 win. The Panthers outshot the Polar Bears, 36-20, and the Bears were an ineffective 0-for-4 with their power play opportunities, compared with Middlebury's solid 2-for-3.
Perhaps the fact that the team already had the fourth seed locked up no matter the outcome of the game resulted in a lack of urgency in the later periods.
With the win, Middlebury claimed the first seed in the upcoming NESCAC playoffs, finishing with a 14-1-1 conference record. The Polar Bears ended up at 9-6-1, the team's best record since the 2006-07 season.
As a result of earning the fourth seed, the Polar Bears will face Connecticut College in the quarterfinals at Watson Arena this Saturday at 4 p.m. For Connecticut College, this season's 12 wins were the most in team history. The Bears split their season series with the Camels, as each team won by a goal at home.