By Johnny Alexandre '23

AMHERST, Mass. – The Connecticut College men's ice hockey team dropped a NESCAC contest to Amherst on the road by a 6-2 decision on Friday evening at Orr Rink.
 
The game began with each team battling for possession and Amherst getting the first real threatening scoring opportunity of the game with a Mammoth receiving the puck in front of the Camel net. Junior defensemen Robert Radochia (Woburn, Mass.), however, quickly deflated the chance with a hard hit on the player. The Mammoths then drew a power play later in the first period when Radochia was called for hooking, but the Camels were again able to prevent the Mammoths from scoring thanks to sophomore goalkeeper Cam Fernandez's (Fairfield, Conn.) efforts.
 
The Camels fortune would flip, however, when immediately following the expiration of the Radochia penalty, Amherst's von Stenibergs would be called for a penalty himself. The Camels and Will Winship's aggressive forecheck on the powerplay would force a turnover behind the Amherst net, and Winship (Andover, Mass.) would quickly find John Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) on the doorstep of the Amherst net, setting up the score. It was Russo's first career goal as a Camel and gave the team a 1-0 lead. 
 
Minutes into the second period following the expiration of another Camel's power play, freshman Devan Newhook (St. John's, Newfoundland) nearly scored himself in front of the Amherst net.
 
Amherst (4-6-1, NESCAC 3-4-1) efficiently picked up the loose puck and pushed it aggressively into the Camel zone. A battle for possession occurred behind the Camel's net, but with all the attention focused there, nobody accounted for Amherst's Michael Pitts, who positioned himself in a favorable position just in front of goaltender Fernandez. Once Amherst found possession, the pass to Pitts set up the first Amherst goal, tying the score at 1-1.
 
Just moments later, the Camels and Mammoths faced off at the left dot in the Camels zone. Amherst won the faceoff and the puck found left winger Ben Kuzma, who took a few strides towards the center of the ice and shot into the bottom right corner of the Camel net, past Fernandez, for the 2-1 second period lead. The score would hold for about ten more minutes. 
 
With under five minutes left in the second period, Amherst would put a cap on their already strong second period, adding two more goals in succession. The first came when the Mammoths, possessing in the Camels zone, fired a shot initially blocked by Bjorn Schuepbach (Monument, Colo.). The loose puck took a moment for the Camel defensemen to locate, giving enough time for Amherst's Quinton Fox to scoop it up and take advantage of a one on one with Fernandez.
 
Following that goal, the Camels looked to clear the puck from their zone, but when a Camel defender lost his stick, Amherst took advantage by firing a shot on the net. The initial shot missed, but the ricochet found Amherst's Connor Merrill, who was able to clean up the rebound for the 4-1 lead and finishing a dominant Mammoth second period. 
 
Just past the midway point of the third period, senior forward Paul Capozzi (Lake Forest, Ill.) positioned himself well opposite the side of the action in front of the Amherst net. The puck was being handled behind the Amherst net and found sophomore Seth Stadheim (Lyme, N.H.) in front of the Amherst net. Stadheim dished it cross-crease to the waiting Capozzi who capitalized on the angle, tightening the score at 4-2.
 
Unfortunately for the Camels, Amherst's Ryan Tucker would quickly respond with another goal of Amherst's own, extending their lead to 5-2. Minutes later, following an Amherst faceoff win in Connecticut College's zone, the Mammoth's Connor Merrill would fire a wrist shot from in front of the blue line, which trickled through into the back of the Camels net for a 6-2 lead and end up being the final result.
 
Amherst led in shots, 65-40 and shots on goal, 39-24, while Connecticut College limited their penalty minutes, four, to Amherst's 12, and blocked more shots, 15-7. Connor Leslie made 20 saves to pick up the win, while Fernandez suffered the loss in a 33-save effort.
 
Connecticut College (1-7, NESCAC 0-5) is next scheduled to play on Friday, Jan. 21st at 7 p.m. in Hartford, Connecticut against the Trinity College Bantams.