2017-18 NESCAC Women's Season

This is the 2017-18 New England Small College Athletic Conference Women's hockey season.

Membership Changes

• None, but Amherst College had announced that it was abandoning its nickname the "Lord Jeffs".  The nickname had become a source of division within the campus community as Lord Jefferson Amherst was a British general who openly supported giving the Native American poplulation blankets infested with smallpox during the French and Indian War. The school's teams were playing without a nickname for the 2016-17 season.  The new nickname was announced April 3, 2017 and it is the Amherst Mammoths.

Membership

Team	Location	Arena
Amherst Mammoths	Amherst, Massachusetts	Orr Rink
Bowdoin Polar Bears	Brunswick, Maine	Sidney J. Watson Arena
Colby Mules	Waterville, Maine	Alfond Rink
Connecticut College Camels	New London, Connecticut	Dayton Arena
Hamilton Continentals	Clinton, New York	Russell Sage Rink
Middlebury Panthers	Middlebury, Vermont	Chip Kenyon '85 Arena
Trinity Bantams	Hartford, Connecticut	Koeppel Community Sports Center
Wesleyan Cardinals	Middletown, Connecticut	Spurrier-Snyder Rink
Williams Ephs	Williamstown, Massachusetts	Lansing Chapman Rink

Standings

New England Small College Athletic Conference								Overall Record
Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Middlebury Panthers	16	13	1	2	49	17	28	28	20	5	3	85	33
Connecticut College Camels	16	9	3	4	35	23	22	26	15	6	5	57	38
Amherst Mammoths	16	9	4	3	44	28	21	27	16	7	4	80	43
Hamilton Continentals	16	9	4	3	32	18	21	25	13	8	4	50	29
Bowdoin Polar Bears	16	6	7	3	32	35	15	25	13	9	3	59	47
Williams Ephs	16	4	6	6	35	39	14	25	10	8	7	66	51
Colby Mules	16	2	10	4	20	42	8	25	8	13	4	42	51
Wesleyan Cardinals	16	2	10	4	17	38	8	25	6	15	4	32	60
Trinity Bantams	16	3	12	1	18	42	7	24	7	16	1	31	66

Note: Amherst won season series 1-0-1 against Hamilton and Colby won season series 1-0-1 to win tie-breakers for seeding

Conference Tournament

Format

The top 8 teams qualify for the single elimination conference tournament.  Quarterfinal round are held at the rink of the higher seeded team.  The semifinal and final rounds are held at the Chip Kenyon '85 Arena on the campus of Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. The conference tournament winner will earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Quarterfinals

• Middlebury Panthers defeated Wesleyan Cardinals 5-0
• Connecticut College Camels defeated Colby Mules 3-1
• Amherst Mammoths defeated Williams Ephs 5-2
• Bowdoin Polar Bears defeated Hamilton Continentals 3-1

Semifinals

• Middlebury Panthers defeated Bowdoin Polar Bears 2-1
• Amherst Mammoths defeated Connecticut College Camels 3-1

Final

• Middlebury Panthers defeated Amherst Mammoths 2-0

2018 NESCAC Women's champions Middlebury Panthers