NORTHFIELD, Vt.- After their return to home ice was pushed back 24 hours due to inclement weather, the ninth ranked Norwich Women's Ice Hockey team returned to Kreitzberg Arena Wednesday night for the first time in two weeks to take on third ranked Amherst.

In a game featuring two of the top teams in Division III in scoring defense, scoring chances were at a premium in this contest. The Mammoths had the first sustained push in the first few minutes, which led to the icebreaker. After a high danger chance was stopped by Leocadia Clark (Stowe, Vt.), Amherst kept the play alive. The original shot from the blueline was blocked down, but, out of the traffic Marie-Eve Marleau would find the back of the net six minutes in.

Anytime the Cadets attempted to mount any pressure in the offensive zone early on, they were kept to the outside with pressure right in their face with any chances from the outside shut down by Amherst netminder Natalie Stott. After a successful penalty kill, the Mammoths went back on the attack and would extend their lead. Similar to the first goal, the original shot from the blueline was blocked, but, after a couple of attempts, Anna Baxter poked the puck home to give Amherst the two-goal lead. They would take the two-goal lead into intermission, while also being shorthanded as the Cadets looked to generate momentum after being outshot 11-5 in the frame.

Even though the powerplay was killed off, Norwich started to generate offense with Madison Anderson (Green Bay, Wis.) and Livia Brooks (Walpole, Mass.) leading the charge. After a Cadet penalty was killed off, Norwich was able to generate a few odd man rush opportunities that were shut down by Stott with the puck sticking to her like glue. Towards the end of the period, Anderson had a chance to cut the Mammoth lead in half but could not get it to go as the score remained the same after 40 minutes.

The Norwich momentum carried into the third, with Brooks looking to create offense, but was shut down by Stott. The Cadets would get more chances on a powerplay on a couple of one-timers by Lauren Tuzik (Frankfort, Ill.) but those were shut down. Late in the period, with Norwich on another powerplay, a shorthanded 2-on-1 was squashed, but a penalty was called leading to some four-on-four hockey. During that time Aimee Headland (Nottingham, U.K.) created a rush chance with her speed, but was shut down by Stott. After pulling Clark for the extra attacker, Norwich pressed the offense with a net mouth scramble but still could not find the back of the net preserving the Amherst victory despite the Cadets holding a 23-11 edge in shots in the final two periods.

"Our first 20 wasn't our best and it cost us," Head Coach Sophie Leclerc Doherty said. "As the game went on, we started to find our game and certainly had chances. There is a lot to learn, and yet several positives to take away."

Norwich will continue their brief homestand Friday night, when they return to New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) action against Johnson & Wales at 6 PM.