WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Three third period goals saw the Amherst men's ice hockey team drop their first rivalry game of the season on Saturday, Dec. 6. In the second game of a road NESCAC weekend, this time against bitter rival Williams, the Mammoths fought off a 2-0 deficit to tie the game early in the third period, but then went on to give up three late markers on the way to a 5-2 defeat.

With the loss, the Mammoths drop to 3-4-1 on the season while the Ephs improve to 3-5. This was the Mammoths' last game of the semester, with the team taking a break until after the new year. They will return on Friday, Jan. 2 looking to get back in the win column in their first game of 2026, facing Suffolk at the Plattsburgh Tour Tournament in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* For the second game running, the Mammoths gave up the lead early, despite firing most of the shots in the first 5 minutes. Williams converted on a quick rush off a faceoff win in their own defensive zone, getting down the ice in two passes. Jackson Krill beat Vincent Lamberti high stick-side to give the Ephs a 1-0 lead 4:48 into the game.
* That score held until the second frame, but it wasn't long until Williams was able to double their lead. With the Mammoths on the penalty kill, the Ephs cycled the puck to the right point, where Krill skated toward the net and got his second of the day with a shot from the right circle to make it 2-0.
 
* Amherst fired right back, however, cutting the lead in half with a power play goal of their own just 2 minutes later. After bringing the puck into the offensive zone, Josh Burke, Oliver Flynn, and Zack Jesse shifted the defense with a couple of passes at the point, before Burke got the puck and skated to his left. He turned back in the direction he came and roped a cross-ice pass to Flynn at the right faceoff dot, and the junior wasted no time, shooting past the Williams netminder to shrink the lead to 2-1.
 
* Again, the last 15 minutes of the period saw neither team net another goal, setting up a decisive final period of action. And again, the period's first minutes yielded goals. After skating the puck into the offensive zone, Jacob Pohl centered the puck for Flynn. He put a shot on goal that was saved by the Ephs' goaltender but the rebound ricocheted off the corner wall right to Jesse to make it 2-2.
 
* That didn't last long, though, as Williams scored three more – the first on the power play just 4 minutes after Amherst tied the game, and the second at the 12:10 mark, and the final, empty-net tally with just under 3 minutes to go to extend the lead to three. That is how the game would end, with the Mammoths falling to the Ephs 5-2 in their first rivalry game of the season.
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
*  The Mammoths narrowly outshot the Ephs 35-34 in shots on goal in the game, while faceoffs were tied at 31 wins apiece.

* Flynn and Burke continued to lead the Mammoth offense, each adding to their team-high point totals. Jesse's goal was his second of the year.

* Lamberti made 29 saves against the Ephs.