AMHERST, MA. – The Amherst College men's ice hockey team battled a tough Bowdoin team to a shootout on Saturday, Feb 8. As the season is nearing its end, every game is crucial, and the Mammoths had an opportunity to get a much-needed victory against a Polar Bears team who they beat 5-2 earlier this season. This time out, though, nothing separated the two teams after regulation and overtime, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie before Bowdoin took the shootout 2-1.
With the loss, Amherst moves to 8-10-2, while Bowdoin is now 8-9-3 overall. Next weekend, the Mammoths will play their penultimate NESCAC double header of the 2024-25 season. To start the weekend, they will face Connecticut College on Friday, February 14. Puck drop for the game against the Camels is scheduled for 7 p.m.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* Bowdoin scored early, tallying just 1:17 into the contest. A long pass from the left found its way through the neutral zone right to the stick of the Polar Bears' forward, who skated it towards the net. He then fired a shot that beat Mammoths' goalie
Andrew Palena high and put Amherst in a 1-0 hole.
* The Mammoths' next chance to tie the game up came three minutes into the second, when
Oliver Flynn dropped the puck back for
Ben Kuzma. The senior fired a laser on net but the attempt was saved by the Colby netminder, the resulting rebound was also stuffed by the Mules, and the score remained at 1-0.
* Amherst did eventually find their breakthrough about ten minutes later. With 4:43 left in the second frame and the Mammoths executed beautifully on the power play. After a shot attempt, the puck found its way to
Josh Burke at the blue line. He played the puck to his left to Flynn, who one-timed it back to the junior. Burke then fired on net and the rebound deflected directly to
Bobby Luca. Luca buried the rebound to even the score at 1-1.
* Neither team was able to find a breakthrough in the third period despite having their opportunities, and the game remined tied heading into overtime.
* Both teams had chances to win the game in the five-minute three-on-three extra frame. Amherst's chance came first, with
Andrew Carmody picking up a blocked shot and skating the length of the rink on a breakaway chance. His shot was barely turned aside by the Polar Bears' goaltender. Palena came up big on the other end just seconds later, stuffing a point-blank chance to keep the gave level and send it to a shootout.
*
Josh Burke netted the first shot of the shootout, sliding the puck under the Bowdoin goalie's outstretched pad. Bowdoin fired back to tie it at one before both teams' second shooters were unable to convert. The same thing happened in round three, with Palena making another save with the game on the line to send it to sudden death. However, Flynn saw his shot saved, and Bowdoin's next shot skittered into the net to give Bowdoin the shootout win.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Luca scored on special teams for the second straight game – his game-tying power play goal went along with a shorthanded tally against the Mules yesterday.
* The Mammoths again outshot their opponents on the day --- 93-49 overall and 51-25 in shots on goal. This included a 13-6 advantage in shots on goal the first, 15-8 in the second, 17-6 in the third, and 6-5 in OT.
* Palena made 24 saves in the run of play, and 2 saves in the shootout.
