Box Score WATERVILLE, ME. – Despite a valiant effort, the Amherst College men's ice hockey team fell to Colby in double overtime in their NESCAC Quarterfinal matchup with the Mules on Saturday, March 1. Looking to keep their season alive and down Colby for the first time this season, the Mammoths came up just short after most an hour and a half of hockey, falling to the Mules 3-2 in walk off fashion.

With the loss, the Mammoths conclude their 2024-25 season with a 11-12-2 record, including an 8-8-2 mark in conference play, and a NESCAC Quarterfinal appearance. Colby improves 14-5-6 overall.
 
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* Amherst started the game on the front foot, outshooting the Mules 12-2 in the opening 10 minutes, and closing the period with five straight attempts. Colby had their chances, though, and goalie Andrew Palena was up to the task. The sophomore's best sequence came 12:50 into the game, when he stopped three consecutive shots, including a breakaway opportunity to keep the game level.
 
* It took the two teams until the 18:36 mark of the second period to score, with Colby finding the lead. The Mules' forward collected the puck in the left corner and beat one Mammoth defender before sliding across the face of goal and firing a shot from the slot to the left post for the 1-0 lead.
 
* Amherst tied it up just five minutes of game time later, netting at 3:32 in the third to tie the game at 1-1. After a Colby shot, the Mammoths went on the rush, with Oliver Flynn chipping the puck into the offensive zone. The Mules' goaltender misplayed the puck behind the cage, where Bobby Luca was able to guide it back to Flynn. Flynn collected the puck, created space for himself, and fired into the mostly open net.
 
* The third-period flurry continued with the Mammoths taking the lead halfway through the period. Amherst was able to win the puck back quickly after a faceoff loss in their offensive zone through the forecheck of Zachary Murray, who jostled the puck loose and tapped it into the high slot. Jacob Pohl was all by himself in the center of the zone and had all the time in the world to rip a booming slap shot past the Colby goalie to make it 2-1.  
 
* Colby evened the game with a tally on the odd man rush with 7:15 to go in regulation, and despite the Mammoths' efforts at the end of the third – they outshot the Mules 9-1 in the final five minutes -- the score remained 2-2 heading into the extra period.
 
* Now in a next-goal-wins scenario, both teams fought hard, but it took more than one extra period to determine a winner. That came 2:23 into the second overtime, when after 83 minutes of hockey, Colby found the breakthrough. A three-on-one rush out of the Mules' defensive zone resulted in a scramble in front of the net, and though Palena made two initial saves, the third attempt slid into the net and Colby came out on top 3-2 with a sudden-victory goal.
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* The Mammoths outshot the Mules 95-50 overall and 55-31 in shots on goal. Flynn paced the team with 14 shots, 10 of which were on goal.
 
* Josh Burke finished the season with the team lead in points, tallying 22. Luca and Ben Kuzma finished the season tied for the team lead in goals with 10 apiece. Burke led the team in assists with 15, followed by mid-season addition Flynn, who notched 14 assists in eight fewer contests.
 
* Palena made 28 saves in the defeat.