AMHERST, MA - After losing their first-round games on Saturday - Amherst 10-0 to Wentworth and Trinity 8-3 to SUNY Oswego - the Jeffs and Bantams skated to a 4-4 non-league tie in Sunday's Ben McCabe Men's Hockey Tournament consolation game at Amherst's Orr Rink. Sophomore center Beau Kretzman (Edina, MN) paced Amherst (1-2-1) with two goals and an assist, while sophomore forward Ryan Stevens (Concord, NH) netted a pair of third-period goals for Trinity (2-1-1), which entered the tournament ranked 14th nationally.

Amherst took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Senior wing Erik DiNardo (North Reading, MA) opened the scoring with a rebound off a power-play wrister by rookie forward Steve Nelson (Wayzata, MN). Kretzman then connected with a short-handed tally, stuffing home a rebound off a Jon Hill (Averill Park, NY) shot on a two-on-one break.

Trinity broke through in the second when first-year forward Brendan Timmins (Arlington, MA) tucked a power-play wrister just beyond Amherst goalie Justin Jagher's (Framingham, MA) glove-hand. Undaunted, the Jeffs stretched the lead to 3-1 later in the period with yet another power-play goal, this time by senior captain Erich Schram (Madison, WI) off a nifty feed from junior defender Chris Norqual (Eden Prairie, MN).

The Bantams rebounded with two goals to knot the score at 3-3 in the third, both by Stevens off assists from senior forward Greg O'Leary (Reading, MA). The first was a shorthanded tally on a two-on-one break, while the second came off a power-play wrister from the slot.

With just under six minutes left in regulation, Kretzman gave Amherst the lead once again with his team-leading sixth goal of the season, stuffing in a loose puck following a shot by Hill on a power play. The Jeffs appeared to have the game in hand with less than two minutes remaining, but Trinity first-year defender Peter Langella (Manchester, NH) had other ideas, sending the game into overtime with a game-tying rebound.

Trinity played much of the five-minute extra-session with a two-man advantage after Amherst juniors Josh Hoffman (Ambler, PA) and John McNicholas (Lake Forest, IL) were whistled for charging and holding, respectively. The Bantams were unable to seal the deal, however, as Jagher, back from a two-game injury-forced hiatus, tallied seven of his 28 saves in overtime to preserve the tie.

The consolation matchup between Amherst and Trinity preceded the tournament championship game in which SUNY Oswego handed Wentworth its first loss of the season, 5-1. Tournament MVP Don Patrick (Fulton, NY) tallied a goal and an assist for Oswego (5-3-1), while sophomore forward Andy Rozak (Mississauga, Ontario) added a pair of first-period scoring strikes.

Sophomore forward Shawn Metheral (Delta, British Columbia) scored the lone goal for Wentworth, which fell to 5-1-2 with the loss.