The men’s hockey team started the season off with a strong 2-1-1 week, which included their first NESCAC victory, a come-from-behind win, a hard-fought out-of-conference loss, and a back-and-forth tie. The season opener was a tight game against Hamilton and ended in a 3-1 victory.
The first period went scoreless, but only 1:44 had passed in the second when sophomore Thomas Lindstrom sent a pass from center ice to linemate David White ’18, who netted Amherst’s shorthanded goal.
This lead lasted through the end of the second period and was widened when sophomore Will Vosejpka put a rebound behind the Hamilton goaltender six minutes into the third. Hamilton responded just two minutes later, however, with a shot by forward Conor Lamberti off a power play face-off win.
Amherst regained their two-goal differential with 4:39 to go in the game when White (assist) and Lindstrom (goal) combined for another rebound goal.
The third period was the most competitive of the night, filled with a flurry of shots from both sides, but Amherst held on to secure the win.
Tuesday afternoon’s contest was a back-and-forth battle, but Amherst came out ahead, 4-3.
The purple and white found themselves behind opponent St. Michael’s College twice over the course of the game but managed to fight back, with two first career goals aiding the effort. Amherst started the scoring with a first period goal by senior Xavier Louis Reed, assisted by first-year John Festa and Chris Roll ’17.
Six minutes into the second, St. Michael’s evened the score and then took the lead towards the end of the period. Seconds before the buzzer, though, Amherst’s Jack Fitzgerald put in the tying goal with a shot off an offensive-zone face-off win by Lindstrom. At the very beginning of the final period, St. Michael’s again took the lead, which they retained until Topher Flanagan ’16 scored mid-period to tie up the game, followed five minutes later by the go-ahead goal (Roll from Max Roche ’19 and Patrick Arena ’16). St. Michael’s pulled their goalie, attempting to use a man-advantage to prevent their loss, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
Only eight minutes into Saturday afternoon’s 6-3 loss against Elmira, Amherst found themselves down by two goals. This gap was widened at 17:29 through the second period, which was marked by multiple penalties on both teams, when Elmira’s Alexander Taulien found the back of the net.
Amherst fought back, however, with a Conor Brown ’16 goal, helped by White and Lindstrom, at then end of the period. Entering the final 20 minutes of the game up 3-1, Elmira added another tally only 41 seconds into the period. Amherst worked hard to even the score, posting 41 shots by the final buzzer to Elmira’s 27, but even Lindstrom and White’s goals, which sandwiched two Elmira goals, could not make up the 3-goal differential that lasted through the final buzzer.
Amherst and Nazareth started the game off strong, with a goal each in the first period. Amherst’s came off a power-play, scored by first-year Phil Johansson, assisted by Theo Hannah ’16 and Chris Roll. The rest of the game was filled with nine total power plays, but neither team could manage the go-ahead goal. In the five minutes of overtime play, Nazareth posted three shots to Amherst’s zero, but the teams stayed locked at 1-1, resulting in the game finishing in a tie.
