January was a tough month for Colby women’s ice hockey. Following a 2-1 win against Nichols College at the St. Michael’s College Tournament on New Year’s Eve, the team began to struggle. However, they have also had some very encouraging results. A double-header at Amherst College in early January ended in a pair of defeats, but the Mules were able to stay with the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) leaders for much of the second game before falling 3-1.

After the Amherst trip, the Mules returned home and forced an overtime tie, 1-1, against Connecticut College before dropping the second game 4-1. Following this doubleheader, the team was back on the road to play against Williams College. The Mules dropped the opener 1-0 and forced another overtime (4-3 loss) in the second. The Mules ended January with two losses at Trinity College and a third at the College of the Holy Cross.

This rough stretch comes as a surprise after very promising results in the first half of the season that included pushing NESCAC powerhouse Middlebury College to overtime as well as wins versus the University of Southern Maine and rival Bowdoin College.

Colby coach David Venditti said, “We are a strong team that can play with any team in the country, but we are currently having trouble capitalizing on our scoring opportunities.”

With the fantastic play of goalkeeper Brianne Wheeler ’14 (who has a .928 save percentage), the team should be getting better results. Wheeler has been “a strong goaltender in Division III who has played well thus far. She is certainly one of the components of the team which gives us the opportunity to be successful.” If Colby can begin to capitalize on good offensive plays, they should be able to obtain better results from here on out.

Annie Papadellis ’14 leads the scoring attack for the Mules with three goals. Samantha Slotnick ’14 leads the team in total scoring with two goals and four assists. First-years Lauren Guarente and Jackie Tavella each have two goals and two assists.

With only five games remaining on the season, Colby must build on the positive and leave the negative behind, starting with games against Saint Anselm College on Feb. 7 and a weekend doubleheader at Wesleyan University on Feb. 10 and 11.