KJ Sports Blog

Amherst Goalie Giancarlo Ventre moving in his goal during the First Period of Saturday afternoon’s game.

AMHERST — Amherst College was able to keep their unbeaten streak alive, pushing it to 8 games defeating Bowdoin 5-2 on Saturday.

All five goals were scored by a different player for Amherst, Sean Wrenn, Joey Verkerke, Patrick Daly, and Matteo Mangiardi all scored one while Connor Merrill scored a goal and added an assist.

More than half of the game was competed by special teams as the Mammoths and Polar Bears combined for 17 total penalties. Amherst Goalie Giancarlo Ventre had this to say about the penalties, “You can get a lot of momentum off of penalty kills, obviously you hate taking penalties . . . but the fact that we were able to battle through created some energy for us and I think it really helped us win this game.”

Despite there being 17 penalties, the only Power Play Goal came on a nifty move where Senior Forward, Patrick Daly was able to slide one past Bowdoin’s goalie.

Since there was such a heavy special teams presence, Assistant Coach T.J. Syner was asked how that affected the Mammoths line changes. “Different guys kill penalties . . . Some guys go on the power play, so you’ve got to make sure those guys get enough rest in between shifts and make sure you get into a rhythm. . . our guys managed it really well . . . we’re really happy with how they did.” said Syner.

Although Amherst won 5-2 they were outshot 36-26, meaning Ventre made 35 saves. Here’s what he had to say about his night, “You can’t really dwell on it too much, sure you enjoy it . . . but every game is a new game and you have to treat it like that everytime.”

The Mammoth’s next game will come on Friday, February 14th when they take on Connecticut College at Orr Arena.

My name is Keagan Stiefel. I’m a Sports Journalism Major at The University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

If you don’t know much about UMass let me refer you to the meme below.

As a part of my Sports Journalism class I have been instructed to make a blog, in part to refine my writing skills and in part learn how to build an audience. So your job, as said audience, is to love everything I write and follow me on Twitter @kjs_44.

Now that you know why we’re both here let me tell you a little about my backround.

I grew up in Salem, Massachusetts. Yes where the witch stuff went down. (Here’s a little fun fact for you, the football field I practiced on for Youth Football was where they hung all of the witches. Fun!)

At age 13, me and my parents moved to San Antonio, Texas where I attended High School and my first 2 years of college. In High School I played* football, it wasn’t quite like Friday Night Lights but it was a pretty big deal.

I stood on the sideline for about 90% of any high school career.

That is me (#44) actually getting some playing time. Must have been garbage time.

Despite never being particularly good at it, football has always been my passion. So since I wouldn’t be playing anymore I knew I needed to find a way to stay involved. That’s why I chose sports journalism, I could be the guy that provided information to fans, the same kind of guy I’ve followed closely throughout my fandom.

After my first two years of college I had to decide where I wanted to finish off my academic career. I knew I wanted to come back home but with all of the schools up here it was a tough decision. I chose UMass because it allowed me to stay close to home but get the college experience that I was missing in Community College. (I don’t regret CC at all though, cheaper and more one on one time to refine your skills in whatever you decide you want to do. I highly recommend it.)

I’ve been back home for almost a year and I am in my second semester at UMass. I love it so far, I feel like I am on the right path.

Now that we’re both here I hope I’ve enticed you enough to read my upcoming stuff, I work really hard on the stuff I do and I keep it all enjoyable. Follow the blog, follow me on Twitter and help me get rich and famous.

Thanks,

Keagan Stiefel

Mammoths Make the Most of Their Opportunities

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