HADLEY, MA – Junior goaltender Andrew Palena (Trinity, Fla.) was named this week's NESCAC Player of the for men's ice hockey, the conference announced earlier today.

Palena had a stellar weekend in net for the Mammoths, earning the first two shutouts of his collegiate career and making 54 total saves two postseason-clinching wins. In the first, a 3-0 victory over Middlebury, the junior made 9 saves in the second period as his team extended their lead from 1-0 to the final 3-0 margin and stopped 11 more shots in the final period to preserve the advantage. On Saturday against Williams he stuffed 26 attempts, including 13 in the final period as his team rolled to a 6-0 win.

Amherst finished the regular season with a 12-10-2 overall record, with a 7-10-1 mark in the NESCAC. Their play earned them the seventh seed in the NESCAC Tournament, and they will travel to second-seeded Bowdoin this weekend for a quarterfinal matchup. The game is set for Saturday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. in Brunswick, Maine.