AMHERST, MA. – Despite a goal from Andrew Carmody, the Amherst College men's ice hockey team dropped a game for the first time in over a month on Saturday, Jan. 4. In their first game of the new year, taking on national-No. 10 Endicott College on home ice at Orr Rink, the Mammoths went down early and could not recover, falling by a score of 6-1.

With the loss, the Mammoths fall to 5-4-1, while Endicott improve to 9-4 this season. Amherst will play the final game of their five-game home stand in less than 24 hours, facing another non-conference opponent, Keene State College, on Sunday, Jan. 5. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* The Gulls came out on the front foot and got on the board quickly with a goal before making it two just 20 seconds later: the first came after a puck came loose off the boards and into the slot, and the second resulted from a face off win that turned into a one-on-one opportunity with Leslie. Those tallies put Amherst in a 2-0 hole just 3:10 into the game.
 
* The Mammoths settled into the contest after that, putting multiple shots on net and shoring up their back line. They threatened on two separate power plays and hit paydirt on a beautiful passing sequence right as the second expired. With 10 seconds to go in the power play, Carmody gathered the puck in the center of his defensive zone, skated to the left side and sent the puck back across to Matt Vander Vort. The sophomore sent another cross-ice pass, hitting Ryan Corcoran in stride. Corcoran slid the puck back into the slot for Carmody, who netted to make it 2-1 with three minutes left in the first period.
 
* That score held heading into the second period. However, Endicott regained the momentum on the power play early in the period with a shot from the blue line that was redirected past Leslie at the 6:26 mark. The Gulls made it 4-1 on another power play opportunity five minutes later, taking a three-goal lead and firm control of the game in the process.  
 
* Facing a three-goal deficit, Amherst came out of locker room hot, putting multiple shots on net in the first half of the period, but were unable to convert. Endicott then began peppering goaltender Connor Leslie with shots, eventually netting with six minutes to go to make it 5-1. They tallied with 3:40 to go in the game to round out the scoring, with the final result a 6-1 defeat for the Mammoths.
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* Amherst led in shots 54-51 despite the lopsided scoreline. This was their eighth straight game leading in that statistical category.

* Execution on special teams was where the game was won and lost: the Gulls scored twice in three chances, while the Mammoths went one for six.
 
* Sophomore Oliver Flynn made his Amherst debut against the Gulls after transferring to the Mammoths mid-season, tallying four shots with two on goal.
 
* Leslie made 30 saves on the day.