MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- Junior forward Michael Pitts netted a hat trick Tuesday afternoon -- his first collegiate goals -- to lead the Amherst College men's hockey team to a 6-3 victory over conference rival Middlebury at Keynon Arena. 

The Mammoths improved to 3-6-1 with the victory, 2-4-1 in conference play. Amherst plays host to Connecticut College Friday night at 7 p.m. Middlebury fell to 1-7-0 overall, 0-6-0 on conference play. The Panthers travel to take on Plattsburgh State Friday at 7 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

    * Trailing 1-0 after the first period of play Tuesday, Amherst erupted for five second-period goals to build a 5-1 lead at the end of two periods of play. The Mammoths scored four goals in a six-minute, 26-second span, beginning with Pitts' first goal of the game at the 15:57 mark. Sean Wrenn set up the goal, breaking into the Panther zone before backhanding a pass to Pitts in the slot. Pitts skated in on the goal, deked left and flipped a shot top left on the short side to tie the game 1-1. 

    * A power-play goal by Wrenn at the 13:05 mark gave the Mammoths a 2-1 advantage. Matteo Mangiardi found Wrenn with a bullett pass, and Wrenn wristed a shot into the goal from the left circle face-off dot. At the 10:16 mark, Ryan Tucker made a nice play, gaining control of the puck at the Panther blueline, flipping a pass to Ben Kuzma in the slot. Kuzma went to his backhand and lifted a shot top shelf left side for a 3-1 lead. 

    * Connor McGinnis was credited with the Mammoths' fourth goal of the game, a power-play goal from the left point that made it 5-1 and put a cap on the four-goal, 6:26 outburst.

    * Pitts scored the final two Mammoth goals, one coming at the end of the second period with 1.2 seconds remaining as converted a 3-on-1 opportunity from the mid-slot with a one-timer off a pass from Stephen Rex. He capped the Amherst scoring with 5:22 remaining in the third period, taking advantage of some great forechecking from Connor Merrill, who won the puck behind the Middlebury goal and slipped a pass into the slot to a streaking Pitts, who one-timed a shot past the keeper for a three-goal game. 



BY THE NUMBERS

    * The five-goal second period was the first time Amherst had scored five markers in one period since January 21st, 2017, during a 10-1 victory over Assumption.

    * The Mammoths were outshot 27-24 in the contest, but freshman goalie Connor Leslie came up with 24 saves to earn the first collegiate victory of his career. The Mammoths were 2 for 4 on the power play in the win and penalized just once.