AMHERST, Mass. -- Two goals 33 seconds 10 minutes apart the first and second periods helped lift the Amherst College men's hockey team to an 5-2 victory over visiting Keene State at Orr Rink Sunday afternoon. 

The Mammoths improved to 5-4-1 on the season while Keene State fell to 5-7-1 overall. Amherst has a conference match at Colby Friday at 7 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS: 

* Amherst had the better of play in the opening period, out shooting the Owls 14-4, but did not get on the scoreboard until 26.3 seconds remained. Magnus Gadowsky made a nice play in the Keene zone, keeping the puck alive along the left board and quickly backhanding a pass to Andrew Carmody, who was unattended right in front of the Keene goal. Carmody's backhanded shot was saved, but Mammoth Oscar Smink was there to pounce on the rebound and fire the biscuit into the basket for a 1-0 Amherst lead. 

* Mid-way through the second stanza, the Mammoths doubled their lead. Jacob Pohl made a nice play, skating into the Keene zone along the right boards. He lost the puck as it went behind the Owls' goal, but regained possession along the left boards, skated around an Owl defender in the face-off circle and delivered a cross ice pass to Ben Snyderman, who used all of his arm length to collect the puck to the right of the face-off dot and then fired a quick shot along the ice that found room near the far left post and snuck in the goal for a 2-0 lead. 

* Keene cut its deficit in half before the end of the period. The Mammoths were killing off a 5-minute major penalty with relative ease, even creating three scoring chances despite being a man down. But the Owls converted an odd man rush into a power-play score and went into the locker room after two frames down 2-1. 

* Amherst put the game away quickly in the third period. Just 2:11, Pohl stole the puck off the stick of an Owl defenseman along the left boards and found Gadowsky alone in the slot. Gadowsky went high top left for a 3-1 Amherst lead. 

* Only 33 seconds later, the Mammoths controlled the puck in the Keene zone the puck made its way back to Zack Jesse at the blue line. His low shot found the stick of Matt Vander Vort in front of the Keene goal and Vander Vort re-directed the puck past the goaltender. 

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Amherst out shot the visitors, 45-28. 

* The Mammoths won 35 of 72 face-offs in the win. Smink won 8 of 14.

* Mammoths' goaltender Andrew Palena got the start and saved 26 of the 28 shots he faced in the game to earn the victory.