Courtesy of Williams Sports Information

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – With the second seed in the NESCAC Championships on the line, the Amherst College men's ice hockey team scored three goals in the third period to rally past arch rival Williams College, 4-1.

The Jeffs (14-7-3, 12-4-2 NESCAC) earned the No. 2 seed in the conference postseason tournament and will host seventh-seeded Conn. College at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 1. With the loss, the Ephs (14-7-3, 10-5-3 NESCAC) earned the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 Colby next Saturday.

After a scoreless first period, Williams was able to strike first early in the second. In just one minute into the frame, Frankie Mork '17 snuck a shot past Jeff goalie Dave Cunningham '16. He was assisted by senior captain Nick Anderson and first-year forward Tyler Young on the play.

It didn't take long for Amherst to strike back. Four minutes after the Williams goal, junior forward Mike Cashman put one past Sean Dougherty '15 right off a faceoff to knot it up at one. Sophomore forward Topher Flanagan had a clean win on the faceoff to earn the assist.

Both teams came out strong to start the third period, with equal opportunities to score at each end.

At about halfway through the third period, Amherst grabbed its first lead of the game. Similar to the first goal, senior forward Brian Safstrom won the faceoff in Williams end as Ryan Edwards '14 capitalized with the eventual game-winner as the Jeffs took a 2-1 lead.

Six minutes later, Alex Debaere '15 was called for tripping to give Amherst a power play opportunity. Elliot Bostrom '14 took advantage and gave the Jeffs a two-goal with a quick shot past Dougherty. Amherst finished 1-for-5 on power play chances.

Williams pulled Dougherty in the closing minutes for the extra skater but to no avail as Chris Roll '17 tacked on an empty netter to give Amherst the decisive 4-1 win.

Cunningham was solid between the posts, stopping 29 shots while Dougherty finished with 21 saves for the Ephs.