AMHERST, MA – With their season on the line, the men's ice hockey team came to play, scoring three third period goals on the way to a season-defining win on Saturday, Feb. 21. Coming off the backs of a win against Middlebury the day prior, the Mammoths looked to lock up a NESCAC playoff berth with a win against archrival Williams. They started the scoring early and never looked back, coming up with a dominant 6-0 win over the Ephs.

Before the game, the Mammoths honored their six seniors: Ben Ritter, Oscar Smink, Josh Burke, Ryan Corcoran, Zachary Murray, and Andrew Carmody. The class of 2026 has had consistent success throughout their time in the Pioneer Valley, getting to the NESCAC playoffs every year since they arrived on campus, including a trip to the conference semifinal in 2022-23.
 
With the win, the Amherst improves to 12-10-2 (7-10-1 NESCAC) on the year while the Ephs fall to 9-13-2 (7-10-1 NESCAC). The result sealed a fourth straight trip to the NESCAC Playoffs for Amherst --- they hold the #7 seed and will travel to #2 seed Bowdoin for a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday, February 28.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* With Amherst on the power play, the special teams continued their hot streak with another goal to make it 1-0. Burke started the breakout in his own end and sent the puck around the boards to Oliver Flynn. He tapped it down to Vincent Velocci in the corner, and the junior hit Burke once again. The senior was wide open at the point and sent a laser past the goaltender for the lead.

* The second marker came just 1:41 into the second period, this time shorthanded. John Small picked off a Middlebury pass on as they attempted to set up their offense and buried the breakaway high stick-side to double the margin.

* They tallied again just four minutes later. Matt Vander Vort collected a long pass off the end boards and spun to his left. He dumped the puck off to Corcoran as he skated by, with the senior sliding behind the net and scoring on a wrap-around for the 3-0 advantage.

* Halfway through the third stanza, the third Mammoth senior got on the scoreboard. This time, it was Carmody who finished the play after Corcoran stole the puck on the forecheck and passed to Jacob Pohl, who skated toward the corner and slotted the puck back for Carmody to bury for 4-0.

* Two more goals, by Cristobal Tola and Burke at the 18:08 and 19:35 marks, respectively, sealed the deal, with the Mammoths taking home a 6-0 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Williams outshot Amherst 26-23 in shots on goal in the contest.
 
* Burke's two-goal outing was his second such game this year. His three-point game was also his second of the season.

* Goaltender Andrew Palena made 26 saves.