CLINTON, NY. – Despite a strong effort against a nationally-ranked NESCAC opponent, the Amherst College men's ice hockey team suffered another setback on Friday, Jan. 24. Taking on No. 9 Hamilton in enemy territory, the Mammoths fell 4-3 in a game of small margins.

With the loss, the Mammoths drop to 7-7-1 overall, while the Continentals improve to 13-3-0 this season. Amherst has little time to dwell on the loss, however, as they will take a break from conference play with a contest against Plattsburgh State in just under 24 hours. Puck drop on Saturday, Jan. 25 against the Cardinals is scheduled for 3 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* While Hamilton got on the board first, scoring at the 6:19 mark of the first period, the Mammoths responded in kind before the end of the frame. Jacob Pohl netted his second of the season off assists from Ryan Corcoran and Oscar Smink to tie the game at 1-1. Despite dominating the chances after their goal, the teams headed into the second tied.
 
* The second period proceeded much like the first. The Continentals again scored first, after just about six minutes of play in the period --- this time against the run of play. But it took the Mammoths only three and a half minutes to tie the game at 2-apiece. Josh Burke tallied off an assist from Zach Jesse to put the Mammoths back on level terms. After a back-and-forth period, the horn again sounded, and the teams entered a decisive third period with nothing separating them on the score board.
 
* The third period started with a bang, with the Continentals taking the lead after just 0:18 seconds had come off the clock. They scored again to double their advantage just five minutes later, taking a 4-2 lead into the final 15 minutes of the game.
 
* Amherst fought their way back within one two minutes later, with Oliver Flynn scoring at the 7:33 mark off assists from Ben Ritter and Jesse to make it 4-3. They battled until the end, notching 10 shots in the final 10 minutes of the game but could not hit paydirt, and suffered a tough 4-3 loss to the Continentals.
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* Oliver Flynn continued his stellar run of form since arriving in Amherst, notching his third goal in seven games.
 
* The two teams tied 32-32 in shots on goal, but Hamilton won the game at the dot, with all but one Mammoth center winning less than 33 percent of their faceoffs --- Burke went 1-2.
 
* Connor Leslie made 28 saves in the loss.