AMHERST, Mass. – The Connecticut College men's ice hockey team scored twice in the first period, holding on to defeat host Amherst College 3-0 on Friday night from Orr Rink. With the winn, Conn improves to 8-12-1 overall and 6-9 in conference play, while Amherst falls to 8-11-2 on the year and 2-8-2 in NESCAC action.

Conn came out of the gates flying, opening the scoring just 2:25 into the contest. Rocco Testa-Basi (Holland Patent, N.Y.) found the back of the net, as Logan Cleary (Mentor, Ohio) and Jack Houser (Arlington, Mass.) picked up the assists. Five minutes later, the Camels doubled the lead. Will Winship (Andover, Mass.) and Andrew Eberling (Mount Laurel, N.J.) notched assists, as Reid Shafer's (Coppell, Texas) point shot found the back of the net. Amherst started to generate some offense late in the period, but Conn stayed in front 2-0 after one.

The final 40 minutes was a defensive slugfest. Both teams were able to generate opportunities in the offensive zone in the second period, as the Mammoths outshot the Camels 12-8 in the frame, but both Will McEvoy (Ottawa, Ontario) and Connor Leslie kept the game at 2-0 heading to the third.

Amherst upped the pressure in the final looking to cut into the deficit. The Mammoths forced three saves from McEvoy in the first 90 seconds, before nearly getting on the board at 4:08, but Matt Toporowski's shot hit the post. Conn began to slow down the Amherst attack, as the Camels continued to lead 2-0. With 2:42 to play, Amherst pulled Leslie for the extra skater, but John Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) was able to pot the puck into the empty net off assists from Jack Luca (Milton, Mass.) and Will Lawrence (Bethesda, Md.) to five Conn the 3-0 win. 

Amherst outshot Conn 35-24, while Conn held a 40-31 advantage on face-off wins.

McEvoy continued his recent strong play in net, stopping all 35 shots for his second shutout of the year. Nine different Camels recorded a point, as Russo, Shafer, and Testa-Basi notching a goal apiece, with Cleary, Eberling, Houser, Lawrence, Luca, and Winship all chipping in one assist. Russon led the way winning 16 face-offs, as Conn finished 2-2 on the penalty kill and 0-4 on the power play.

Leslie got the start in goal, finishing with 21 saves. Toporowski paced Amherst with six shots on goal, while the Mammoths went 0-2 on the power play and 4-4 on the penalty kill. 

Conn plays their final road game of the regular season tomorrow afternoon, as the Camels travel to Clinton, N.Y. to take on No. 9 Hamilton at 3:00 p.m.