Women’s hockey (8-6-1) tied 0-0 against the Colby Mules (9-4-2) on Saturday in regular play and overtime but won a shootout to end the game.
According to goaltender Erin Pye ’26, this week’s NESCAC Player of the Week, the team encountered challenges as it transitioned into playing against tougher opponents — as many games in December were played against teams outside of the NESCAC. “It’s been interesting so far since we’ve played more [out-of-conference] teams,” she said. “I think finding that balance now of getting back into this pack is a little different than we had anticipated.”
As the Ephs ease into this transition, they have begun to familiarize themselves with the playing styles of other NESCAC teams. “Some of the other NESCAC teams that we play — like Trinity, for example — are very physical,” Pye said. “[Colby] was a very skill-based team. Their passes are really good, their plays are set and good. It was a different style than we had played previously.”
Even though the game demanded that the Ephs adjust their style, they maintained high morale. “The atmosphere was awesome throughout the whole team,” forward Charlotte Fetherston ’28 said. “We really came together instead of shying away from the challenge. Colby is a very, very good team, and they have some really fast and skilled players. As a team, we didn’t let that intimidate us but instead rose to the challenge.”
The Mules started out strong in the game’s first period — taking the Ephs by surprise, Fetherston said. As the game progressed, the Ephs began to match their speed.
“We played our speed well,” defender Katie Armstrong ’25 told the Record. “We’re definitely a fast team, and when we bring that, teams don’t really know what to do. That was a strength we had.”
In the second period, the Ephs ramped up the energy, but the score remained tied. The teams continued to battle in the third period, with neither side able to break the deadlock, sending the game into overtime.
After both teams failed to score during overtime, the game went to a shootout, in which Fetherston secured a point for the Ephs. “I didn’t know I was shooting until our coach said, ‘Next shooter, you’re up,’” she said. “That didn’t give me a lot of time to overthink what I was doing — which I thought was really helpful in the end.”
A policy in the women’s league stipulates that the game will be recorded as a tie despite the shootout victory. As a result of the tie, both teams will receive 1.5 points toward their NESCAC ranking.
The Ephs’ victory in the shootout will be used as a tiebreaker should they be tied with the Mules at the end of the season.
“The shootout is something that we practice before every game, so to be able to use those skills that we’ve been working on since the beginning of the season was super huge,” Keira Harder ’27 said. “We had two freshmen participating in the shootout, which was awesome, and they both did a really great job. We’re just so proud of our team’s accomplishments so far.”
The Ephs will next play the Hamilton Alexs, another tough NESCAC competitor, on Jan. 10 and Feb. 1.
