CASTLETON, VT - Junior forward Josh Cherney (Chappaqua, NY) netted his first career hat trick to lead the Amherst College men's hockey team to a 9-1 victory at non-conference foe Castleton State College on Friday night. The Jeffs outshot the Spartans 71-18 en route to their ninth win of the year, improving to 9-4-2 overall.

Amherst senior Josh Hoffman (Ambler, PA) fed Cherney for the first of his three scores at the 7:55-mark in the opening frame. Junior Marc Russell (Essex, VT) pushed the lead to 2-0, and first-year Sean Ellis (Springfield, MA) gave the Jeffs a 3-0 edge before the end of the first period with a power-play goal.

Cherney opened the second session with a power-play goal, and the Jeffs tacked on three more scores in the period, outshooting Castleton St. 30-4. Junior co-captain Beau Kretzman (Edina, MN) netted his team-high 10th goal of the year, while sophomore Scott Aldrich (Wilmington, MA) and first-year Trevor Calamel (Lockport, NY) scored their fifth and second goals of the season, respectively.

Cherney completed the hat trick 31 seconds into the final period, giving junior Bill Jenkins (Edina, MN) his second assist of the game, and Hoffman his third. Junior Jon Hill (Averill Park, NY) pushed the Amherst lead to 9-0 just 14 seconds later to cap the Jeffs' scoring. Castleton St. first-year Thomas Gatta prevented the shutout at the 16:52-mark.

Amherst sophomore goalie Sean Lynch (Essex Junction, VT) collected 17 saves in his first start of the year, while first-years Branden Gallagher and Billy Thompson III split time for the Spartans and posted 42 and 20 saves, respectively. Castleton St. fell to 0-13 with the loss.

Amherst returns to action Saturday at 3 p.m. at ECAC East foe Skidmore College.