AMHERST, Mass. -- Antoine Belisle's goal with 1:19 left in overtime Friday night thwarted the Amherst College men's hockey teams comeback from a two-goal deficit as it fell to visiting Middlebury, 3-2, at Orr Rink.
Amherst saw its record fall to 9-11-2 overall and 8-8-1 in conference play. With 27.5 points in NESCAC play, the Mammoths are tied for fifth place with Williams, who they play tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Orr Rink on Senior Day. Middlebury improved to 5-12-3 overall and 4-11-2 in conference play. They are at Hamilton Saturday for a 3 p.m. puck drop.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* Only 20 seconds prior to Belisle's game-winner in the 3-on-3 overtime session,
Ben Kuzma had a great opportunity in the slot at the other end, but his shot bounced off the crossbar and high into the Orr Rink air.
* It was Kuzma who tied the score with 4:12 left in the second period.
Ryan Tucker won the puck at center ice and skated to the blueline, delivering a pass to
Matt Toporowski as he skated over the line and into the zone. Kuzma was streaking down the right side of the slot toward the goal crease and Toporowski delivered a tape-to-tape pass that allowed Kuzma to easily push into the open lower right-hand corner of the goal.
* Down 2-0,
Matteo Mangiardi put Amherst on the board at the 10:42 mark of the second stanza.
Sean Wrenn won the puck behind the Panther goal and threw it out into the slot, where Mangiardi skated onto it and one-time a shot into the top right-hand corner.
* Middlebury out shot the Mammoths 12-7 in the first period, getting on the scoreboard with 5:06 remaining. Zach Shapiro won a puck behind the Amherst goal and slid a pass into the slot where Paddy Bogart skated onto the puck and flicked a shot past Mammoth goalie
Dan Dachille into the top left corner.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Middlebury had a slight advantage in shots (33-25) and face-off victories (28-25) in the contest.
* Each team had two power-plays, and both were 0 for 2.
* Dachille finished with 30 saves for Amherst, while Jake Horoho stopped 23 for the Panthers.
