HARTFORD, CT. – Though junior Zachary Murray scored his fourth goal in five games, the Amherst College men's ice hockey team dropped their fourth straight game on Friday, Jan. 31. In a NESCAC rematch against No. 12 Trinity, whom they beat in a shootout earlier this season, the Mammoths could not find an offensive rhythm and fell to the Bantams 5-1.

With the loss, the Mammoths drop to 7-9-1, while Trinity improves to 12-4-1 overall. Amherst has little time to rest before their next conference contest and will look to turn their fortunes around against Little Three rival Wesleyan tomorrow, Saturday Feb. 1. Puck drop for the game versus the Cardinals is scheduled for 3 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* The game's early minutes were defined by two penalties – one of them a five-minute major on Jacob Pohl, his second in the past two games – that put them down a man for much of the period's opening half. But not only did they successfully kill off the major, but they created two very dangerous chances in the process. The first came off a stretch pass on a counterattack that just slid past the outstretched stick of a wide-open Oliver Flynn at the blue line. The second came in the penalty's final seconds, when Josh Burke flew in on the Trinity net, but the Bantams' goalie made a diving stop on the breakaway to maintain the tie.
 
* Trinity found the opener just minutes later after a long pass created a two-on-one chance for the home side. The Bantam forward turned down the pass, using a head-fake to create space for himself and uncork a low shot past Mammoths goaltender Andrew Palena to make it 1-0 at the 12:42 mark. Though Amherst had a golden opportunity to score in the period's last minute via Ben Ritter, it did not pan out and the teams entered the break with Trinity up one.
 
* Amherst started the second period by getting into dangerous spaces and forcing multiple big saves out of the Trinity netminder in the first two minutes, but the Bantams found their footing shortly after. During a period of sustained pressure in the Mammoths' zone, the Trinity forecheck was able to secure puck and fire it towards the goalmouth. Though Palena made the initial save, the Bantams buried the rebound to double their lead to 2-0.
 
* The Mammoths bounced back during the second half of the period, with two penalties affording them power play opportunities. They were unable to capitalize on either, however, though Matt Toporowski rifled a particularly enticing chance just wide immediately after the penalty expired. They were unable to convert the rest of the frame, leaving Amherst a tough hill to climb in the third, down two.
 
* The final period yielded more goals from the Bantams: first, they netted off a counter with a shot slipping past Palena at the 5:50 mark before they widened the advantage to 4-0 with laser from the slot that beat the Mammoths' goalie over the shoulder. Trinity made it five with about 90 seconds to go all but sealing the victory.
 
* Zachary Murray got the Mammoths on the board at the death, jamming a loose puck home at 19:36 off an assist from first-year Magnus Gadowsky to account for the 5-1 final score.
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* Despite the loss, the Mammoths' penalty kill proved it mettle: they killed off all four of Trinity's power plays, including the five-minute major in the first period.
 
* Offensive cohesion and shot taking proved the difference in the matchup: the Bantams fired 60 shots, including 25 on net, while Amherst took only 37 with 14 on goal.
 
* Palena made 20 saves in the defeat.