Women’s ice hockey (7-7-2, 4-5-1 NESCAC) fell 2-3 to the No. 8 Colby Mules (11-3-1, 4-3-1 NESCAC) in overtime last Saturday, Jan. 20. The game was the second of a series, following a 2-4 loss for the Ephs on Friday night.
While the competition proved more even than the teams’ Friday match-up — with two Eph equalizers from forwards Leah Rubinshteyn ’26 and Jaelyn Keiver ’26 — in the end, their efforts were not enough to take down the Mules, who swiftly recouped their lead in overtime.
Heading into Saturday’s match, the Ephs aimed for a stronger start than the previous night’s, when the Mules dominated by scoring three goals in the first period.
“Our focus going into the second game was that the first shift has to be really strong,” Rubinshteyn said in an interview with the Record.
Though the Ephs improved their start, showing great physicality and offense from the outset, the Mules again established an early lead, scoring with just over seven minutes left in the first period.
The final five minutes of the first period remained highly contested, with eight shots for the Mules and seven for the Ephs. The second period began with a power play in the Ephs’ favor, but despite a flurry of shots, the Mules maintained their 1-0 lead.
It seemed the second period may end scorelessly — even as Lucie Bond ’26 and Rubinshteyn fought relentlessly on offense — but with less than two minutes left, Rubinshteyn tallied the Ephs’ first point. The goal not only tied the game at 1-1, but also tied Rubinshteyn with Colby’s Meg Rittenhouse as the top scorer in the NESCAC, each tallying 11 goals so far this season.
Just seconds after Rubinshteyn’s equalizer, consecutive penalties by the Mules gave the Ephs a five-on-three power play opportunity. Keiver called the moment the game’s “most intense.” The Ephs, however, did not capitalize on their momentum and failed to convert, leaving the tied score at 1-1.
Less than five minutes into the third period, the Mules capitalized on a power play of their own, recovering their lead at 1-2. Though possession was traded fiercely, the Ephs remained down 1-2, even after an exciting on-goal shot by co-captain Jill Parsons ’23.5 halfway through the period.
In another drive with with less than five minutes remaining in the last period, the Ephs proved successful as Keiver put the puck in the net, tying the teams again at 2-2. “Everyone else was changing, I was the only one on the ice and I thought, ‘Why not shoot?’” Keiver said of her goal. “That was a crazy moment.”
Neither team was able to break the resulting tie in the final minutes of regulation play, and the game was pushed into overtime.
While it seemed the Ephs might close in on the No. 8 Mules, Keiver’s fearless equalizer was nullified in overtime when the Mules’ Rittenhouse recovered her position as sole top scorer in the NESCAC with a goal just fourteen seconds into overtime, ending the game in a 2-3 loss for the Ephs.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Rubinshteyn emphasized the excitement of the match. “It was definitely huge, because when you’re losing and then you tie it up, and then you lose it again and then tie it up, you gain that momentum,” she said.
“Especially going into overtime — even though it didn’t go our way, still, having that momentum is huge.”
The Ephs play next in an on-the-road matchup against SUNY Plattsburgh (14-2-1) on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 3 p.m., which will conclude this season’s out-of-conference play.
