New London — Under heavy pressure, goalie Katherine Chester is as calm as the eye of the storm.

Chester remains poised no matter how dark the clouds are on the horizon.

The Connecticut College senior doesn't flinch when an opposing hockey player bears down on her on a breakaway, as happened in a 3-1 win over Middlebury on Friday when she perfectly read and blocked the shot.

She maintains her composure while in the face of adversity as she did while her team killed off two shorthanded 5-on-3 situations during a recent weekend series sweep of Amherst.

She regularly embraces the challenge of needing to make momentum-turning saves to protect a lead or keep the Camels within striking distance.

That's what makes Chester, a senior from Mendham, N.J., one of the best goalies in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Last season, she earned her first All-NESCAC first team honor and ranked third in the nation in save percentage while leading the Camels to a program-best 15 wins overall.

"She's calm and the team believes in her," coach Kristin Steele said. "She's a very talented goalie and always has been. She just takes care of business and our team trusts her."

With Chester anchoring the defense, the Camels are off to a terrific 3-1 start in the conference after playing two top 10 teams. They're tied for first place with Hamilton, Middlebury and Williams.

The 5-foot-9 Chester makes a difficult job look easy, using her quick reflexes, sound positioning and hockey smarts to frustrate foes. She's turned away 119 of 123 shots this season in four starts, owning a 1.00 goals against average. Entering the season, she had a career 1.43 goals against average in 36 games.

Steele credits goalie coach Bob Bellemore and Chester's work ethic for the senior's development.

"She's just consistently focused," Steele said. "She's a very quiet leader. She does her job. She comes to play, so we know what we're going to get from her."

Chester is not only a first-rate goalie but apparently a good actor, too. She admits that she's not as calm as she appears on the ice.

"For me, it's just always been the way that I've played," Chester said of her calm demeanor. "Internally, I'm definitely not calm. I think I'm able to play it off a little bit calm, hopefully. ... Most games I still get nervous."

Chester didn't start out her hockey career as a goalie. She played forward for the first couple of years before making a switch at around nine years old.

Her childhood days spent playing goalie in her family's basement convinced her to give the position a serious try.

"My dad was like, 'Why don't you try it out?'" Chester said. "I got a bunch of used pads and tried it out and really liked it right away. It's definitely tough when you're first out there because you're so bulky and you're huge and very uncomfortable and then you get used to it and it's a lot of fun."

Since then, Chester hasn't stopped having fun and making life miserable for her opponents.

In last Friday's victory over No. 3 Middlebury, Chester piled up 36 saves, including several spectacular ones. She helped the Camels kill seven penalties while posting her ninth career shutout in a 1-0 win over Amherst on Nov. 18. Her sparkling performance earned her NESCAC player of the week honors.

Senior defender Julie Beattie has watched Chester develop into a top-notch goalie during their four years together.

"She's been strong for us since she's been here as a freshman," Beattie said. "She can save 40 shots a game. ... Not getting in a lot of games her freshman year, she's really grown into this position as the starting goalie. She deserves it. She's been great all-around. A good teammate and good person."

The Camels have grown as a program, too. They've improved their overall and NESAC victory total in each of the last three seasons. They also won their first ever NESCAC tournament home game last winter.

The Camels have their sights set on winning the program's first NESCAC championship.

Anything is possible with Chester in goal.

"It's pretty crazy," Chester said of her successful career. "I guess I don't really think about it too much now. But I think being a senior is definitely starting to hit you that you're toward the end now. It's amazing, really."

g.keefe@theday.com