WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – A dominant first period saw the Amherst College men's ice hockey team clinch their spot in the 2024-25 NESCAC Championship tournament against their biggest rivals on Saturday, Feb. 22. Entering their final game of the regular season needing just one point to keep their season alive, the Mammoths put four goals past the Ephs in the first period on their way to a 5-2 win.

With the win, the Mammoths improve to 11-11-2, while Williams drops to 8-13-3 overall. Amherst will be playing on the road in the NESCAC tournament next weekend, with a quarterfinal matchup set for Saturday, March 1 against an opponent to be determined.
 
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* Like in yesterday's game, a period-long offensive flurry sealed the deal. It started five minutes into the first period. After a good defensive play to prevent a centering pass, the puck caromed out to the boards on the left side. There it was picked up by Josh Burke, who roped a perfect breakout pass up the middle to a wide-open Zachary Murray at the Williams blue line. Murray easily converted on the breakaway for the 1-0 lead.
 
* They capitalized on the momentum from their first tally just 1:40 later. After a period of sustained pressure in the Ephs' zone, Oscar Smink collected the puck after a shot went wide of the cage. He skated back towards the blue line and dumped the puck off for Matt Vander Vort on the left side of the net as he passed him going towards the net. Vander Vort settled the puck behind the net, and sent a perfect centering pass into the mix, where Cristobal Tola tapped it home to make it 2-0.
 
* They got a third shortly after that off some beautiful puck movement. After breaking into the Williams zone, Vincent Velocci received the puck at the half-wall. He sent the puck across the ice to Ben Ritter at the opposite point, who found Matt Toporowski wide open in the slot. Toporowksi took his time, maneuvering behind a defender into the high slot and firing a rifle for a three-goal advantage just under nine minutes into the game.
 
* They got their fourth goal of the game with their aggressive forecheck. After the puck was cleared, Oliver Flynn was able to steal the puck from an Eph defenseman behind the net and center it for a wide-open Bobby Luca. Luca easily notched his tenth goal of the season to make it 4-0.
 
* Williams pulled one back on the power play 1:14 into the second period. Though Andrew Palena saved the Ephs' first three attempts at the doorstep, he was unable to get in front of the fourth as Williams narrowed the lead to 4-1.
 
* Amherst got that goal back, though. After a big save by Palena from point-blank range, the puck slid out to the right and stayed in play. It was chipped out of danger by Flynn and brought back to the ice by Andrew Carmody. Carmody was able to hit Ben Kuzma in stride on the opposite blue line, and the senior lasered a shot to the far post to restore the four-goal margin halfway through the second.
 
* Though Williams pulled another goal back with a power-play tally with just :01.0 left in the second frame, Palena did his job well, and Wiliams would get no closer. The final horn sounded, and Mammoths closed their season with an emphatic 5-2 victory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* With their five goals today, the Mammoths have now put away a staggering 17 goals in during their playoff-clinching three-game win streak (five goals vs. Tufts, seven vs. Middlebury, and five vs. Williams).
 
* Luca and Kuzma's goals were both of their tenth goals of the season, tying them for the team lead in that category.
 
* Palena made 36 saves in the victory, including 16 in the second period alone.