AMHERST, Mass. -- Senior Matteo Mangiardi scored with 1 minute, 49 seconds left in the game Saturday, napping a tie and lifting the Amherst College men's hockey team to a thrilling 5-3 win over conference foe Tufts at Orr Rink.

The Mammoths picked up their third consecutive victory and are now 3-0-1 in their last four games, improving their record to 5-6-1 overall and 4-4-1 in NESCAC play. Tufts slipped to 1-9-1 overall, 1-5-1 in conference play. Tuesday night, Amherst plays host to #15 Curry at Orr Rink at 7 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

* Tufts led 2-0 in the first period, but Amherst rallied to tie the game 2-2 before the period expired on two power-play goals. Matt Toporowski put the Mammoths on the board when he received a cross ice pass from Mitchell Shults at the bottom of the right circle and one-time a blast into the short side to make it 2-1. 

* More great puck movement netted the Mammoths the tying goal as Max Thiessen found Toporowski below the left circle and Toporowski quickly fed Joey Verkerke in the slot, and Verkerke skated in a few strides before he wristed a shot top right with 56.8 seconds left in the stanza. 

* A third power-play goal early in the second period netted Amherst the tying marker. Off a rebound and melee in the slot, Verkerke played the puck back to Ben Kuzma, who circle through the slot to the right and fired a shot top shelf on the right side of the goal for a 3-2 advantage at the 1:19 mark. 

* The score was tied 3-3 for much of the third period until the Mammoths took advantage off an odd-man break. Connor Merrill slid a pass from the right circle over to a wide open Mangiardi, who one-timed a beautful shot just past the sliding Tufts goalie for the game-winner. Sean Wrenn clinched the win with an empty-net goal shot from just in front of his own crease.



BY THE NUMBERS

* Amherst goalkeeper Connor Leslie made 24 stops in the contest while his counterpart, Spenser Rose, made 24 saves. 

* The Mammoths finished 3 for 4 on the power play in the game. They have scored 17 goals during their three-game win streak.