After a pair of weekend NESCAC matches against the Hamilton Continentals, the women’s hockey team walked away having both tasted victory and suffered defeat. The Cardinal women skated to victory during the first showdown on Friday, Feb. 1 and just narrowly lost their second match the following day.

Wesleyan was the first to tally a score in the opening match of the weekend. Barely three minutes into the first period, Laura Mead ’16 set up a goal from Cara Jankowski ’15, who scored through the five-hole of the Hamilton goalie to put the Cardinals up 1-0. The second period proved scoreless, but Hamilton retaliated at the beginning of the third period, evening the score at 1-1. Not to be outdone, Jankowski added another goal and brought the win home for the Cardinals. Her goal came from a rebounded shot on goal with three minutes left in play, with Mead and Jordan Schildhaus ’15 given credit for the assists.

On the defensive end of the game, star goalie Ashleigh Corvi ’13 shined once again. Her impressive 42 saves were arguably the most influential aspect of the Cardinals’ win over the Continentals. The victory was also a true showcase of the depth and talent that the team possesses. Despite managing 43 shots to the Cardinals’ 12 on goal, and having twice as many power plays as its opponents, Hamilton was unable to stop this Wesleyan team. The game proved easily one of the best of the season for the Cardinals.

With very little time for rest, Wesleyan again faced off against Hamilton the following afternoon. The match-up proved to be much more evenly played, with a comparable number of both power plays and shots on goal for each side. Hamilton scored first in this match, midway through the second period, and again seven minutes into the third, bringing the score to 2-0.

Wesleyan fought back, pulling Corvi from the net with a minute left in play. The Cardinals’ advantage allowed Alicia White ’15, assisted by MacKenzie McPike ’15 and Kelsey Muller ’13, to score with only 52 seconds left to play. But despite the squad’s best efforts, Wesleyan could not come up with the game-tying goal, giving Hamilton the victory at a margin of 2-1.

“As a whole, the team went into the weekend really eager to play hard and make a statement.” said Muller. “Even though the goal was to sweep Hamilton, we did come away with a well-deserved win that will help us get to playoffs.”

“We were happy to upset Hamilton two years in a row,” McPike added. “The second game was extremely close in the end. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to capitalize on our power plays. However, we got several close chances in the end of the third. We were proud of our efforts despite the loss.”

This recent pair of games against Hamilton drops the Cardinals to a 2-10-0 record in the NESCAC. With this standing, Wesleyan will need to net victories in its final four matches of the season in order to snag a good seed in the NESCAC post-season tournament. The team looks to victory as it heads to Waterville, Maine this Friday to take on the Colby Mules in a pair of back-to-back matches.