Colby College players celebrate after a 4-3 victory over Wilkes University in an NCAA D-III women’s ice hockey first round game on March 15 in Waterville. The Mules play Amherst College on Saturday in the quarterfinal round. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

WATERVILLE — For the chance to reach the first Frozen Four in program history, the Colby College women’s hockey team must beat a well-known opponent.

The Mules (18-6-2) travel to Massachusetts on Saturday to take on New England Small College Athletic Conference champion Amherst College (21-5-1) in an NCAA Division III quarterfinal game at Orr Rink. Faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

This is Colby’s third trip to the NCAA tournament, all under coach Holley Tyng, who is in her ninth year with the program. The Mules have never advanced past the quarterfinal round.

Colby swept the regular-season series against Amherst, winning 3-1 on Feb. 7 and 3-2 on Feb. 8. The Mules were 1-7-1 in their previous nine games against Amherst, dating to March 2020, before the sweep. The Mammoths captured their sixth NESCAC title with a 1-0 win over Middlebury College on March 9.

“I think we do a little bit better with (familiar opponents),” said Tyng. “The NESCAC has its own style of play, just like other conferences have their own style of play. A known opponent that we’ve had some success against is (nice), but we’ll have to play all these great teams (successfully) if we’re going to get to that championship game. But we’re looking forward to getting back down to Amherst this weekend. We obviously have a ton of respect for them as an opponent and we’ll just do our best.”

Wilkes University goalie Audrey Milne waits as Colby’s Breanna Studley shoots and scores during an NCAA Division III first round game March 15 in Waterville. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Amherst boasts two players with 20 or more points, forwards Maeve Reynolds (7 goals, 15 assists) and Bea Flynn (11 goals, 9 assists). Forward Ayla Abban (13 goals, 6 assists) and defenseman Gretchen Dann (9 goals, 10 assists) each have 19 points. Defensively, the Mammoths are led by junior goaltender Natalie Stott, who has started 25 games this year, and owns a 20-5-1 record. Her goals against average of 0.87 is the lowest in the nation in DIII women’s hockey.

Colby reached the quarterfinals with a 4-3 victory over Wilkes University in the first round on March 15 at the O’Neil | O’Donnell Forum in Waterville. The Mules went on an offensive surge against the Colonels, scoring all four goals in the first 25 minutes of play. Forwards Molly Lefebvre, Audrey Shirer and Megan Martodam, and defenseman Breanna Studley, each scored for Colby.

“Wilkes was a great opponent, we’ve never played them before and we faced some adversity,” Colby senior defenseman Anna Staton said after the win. “We played simple, we played according to the game plan, and (senior goalie Mandy Busky) had some key saves. Everyone had a great game. The forwards were finding the back of the net, which was huge. The (defense) was on fire, we were boxing out. It was a fun game.”

The offensive output has been on brand for the Mules, who have six different players with 10 points or more this season. Lefebvre (7 goals, 10 assists) leads the group the with 17 points, while Studley (9 goals, 7 assists), forward Courtney Schumacher (8 goals, 8 assists) and defenseman Georgia Pettygrove (5 goals, 11 assists) each have 16 points.

“It’s so great to see (the scoring spread around),” Tyng said. “It’s just that next-man-up mentality and a full team effort. The girls have talked about their relationships and how excited they are to see each other succeed. I think that’s so key for us as a team.”

Colby College senior goaltender Mandy Busky has an 12-2-2 record this season, with a 1.11 goals against average. She also has five shutouts. Contributed photo by Colby College Athletics

Busky has had a career year for the Colby, with a 12-2-2 record and five shutouts. Her 1.11 GAA is eighth-best in Division III.

“Growth has been a key factor to our team throughout the season,” Busky said. “We had a little bit of a bumpy start in the beginning (of the season). It’s been good to keep the growth (going) and get better each day.”

The NESCAC boasts three of the final eight teams remaining in the tournament. Middlebury (20-6-1) hosts Nazareth University of Pittsford, New York at 3 p.m. Saturday. The other DIII quarterfinal games Saturday are Augusburg (23-3-1) vs. St. Norbert (24-4-1) and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (23-3-2) vs. Elmira (20-7-1). Both games are scheduled for 4 p.m.