AMHERST, Mass. – Brian Safstrom '14 scored two goals to lead the 13th-ranked Amherst men's ice hockey team to a 3-1 win against Trinity on Saturday night at Orr Rink.

The Jeffs (3-0-0) trailed early but rebounded to score three-straight goals on their way to their third-consecutive win of the year, handing Trinity (2-1-0) its first loss.

The Bantams came out hot and got on the board early as Sean Orlando '17 found the back of the net in just over two minutes of action. With the early score, Trinity had set the tempo for the first period and remained the aggressors for most of the first 20 minutes.

After several opportunities to increase their lead, Amherst held strong and entered the second stanza trailing just one despite a 10-3 shot advantage in favor of the Bantams.

The second period was a different story as the momentum quickly shifted in the Jeffs direction. Amherst had a great chance to tie the game early in the period as Safstrom placed a solid shot on net. Getting his own rebound, Safstrom sent another one towards goal but was denied once again by Trinity goalie Ben Coulthard '14.

The Jeffs had posted another great opportunity with just over nine minutes to go in the second as Conor Brown '16 sped past Bantam defenders down the right side to face the goalie one-on-one but his attempt went high of the net.

Shortly after, down two men, Andrew Kurlandski '14 stole the puck from a Trinity forward near their own blue line. Skating down the ice ahead of everyone, the senior captain snuck one into the back of the net as Amherst tied the game at the 11:33 mark.

Much like the second period, the Jeffs came out hot in the third as Brown sent a shot on net in what seemed to be a goal as players began celebrating. Despite the confusion, play continued and Safstrom punched in the game-winner with a man advantage.

The Bantams wouldn't go down easily and put together a great scoring chance to tie the game as a shot from Greg Rooney '15 bounced off Amherst goalie Dave Cunningham '16 with Michael Hawkrigg '16 there for the rebound but his attempt was denied by the sophomore as well.

With just under five minutes to play, Trinity put the pressure on Cunningham and the Amherst defense again but the Jeff goalie stood his ground and made a couple great saves to protect the lead.

With the Bantam goalie pulled, Brown connected with Safstrom for a shorthanded insurance tally as the Jeffs pulled away, 3-1.

After being outshot by seven in the first period, Amherst retaliated in the second and connected on 14 compared to Trinity's five, however, the Bantams finished with a one shot edge (27-26). Trinity was 0-for-10 on power plays while Amherst went 1-for-3 with two shorthanded goals.

Cunningham made 26 saves in net for Amherst and Coulthard recorded 23 stops between the pipes for Trinity.
 
The Jeffs return to the rink tomorrow, Nov. 24 for a 3 p.m. contest against Wesleyan.