BRUNSWICK, ME –After playing their way to a NESCAC postseason spot, the seventh seeded Amherst men's ice hockey team took to the ice on Saturday, Feb. 28 fighting for their season to continue. Coming off the back of two straight wins against Middlebury and Williams last weekend, the Mammoths took the trip to Maine to face No. 2 seed Bowdoin. Though they pulled within one at the end of the second frame, Amherst could not complete the comeback, falling 3-1.

With the loss, the Amherst finishes their 2025-26 season at 12-11-2 while the Polar Bears improve to 18-6-1 and advance to next weekend's NESCAC semifinal. The Mammoths' campaign ends in the NESCA quarterfinals for the third straight season.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* Bowdoin got on the board early, netting just 1:08 into the game on a puck that found its way into the net during a net-front scrum. Though Andrew Palena was able to get a pad to the first shot, the rebound was dug at by multiple players and snuck past him to give the Polar Bears a 1-0 lead.

* That's how the score would stay until 12:26 remained in the second frame. Bowdoin capitalized on breakout from their own end, dumping the puck to the corner for an onrushing forward. He slid the puck into the slot, where a Louie Marcellino one-timer beat Palena high glove side to double the advantage.

* As the game wore on, it was clear that Amherst would find their offensive success on the power play – many of their best chances came on the man-advantage. Josh Burke, John Small, and Andrew Carmody led the way on the Mammoths' top unit, putting attempts on goal and cycling the puck well.

* It was on the power play that Amherst pulled one back, netting with 3:12 to go in the second. Small fired a shot that was blocked in front, with the puck rolling to the corner. Though a Bowdoin defender got there first, Small stole the clearance attempt; after a couple of bounce passes between Small and Burke at the point. Burke collected a pass, skated to his left, and fired a wrister to the top right corner to make it 2-1.
* The Polar Bears put a stop to the Mammoths' comeback effort with a goal just 3 minutes into the final period. A one-time shot from the left point slid under Palena's pad to extend the lead to 3-1.

* Some of Amherst's best sequences of the night came with the net empty with just over two minutes remaining. Shots from Ray Hou, Matt Vander Vort and Small forced saves out of Bowdoin netminder Jacob Osborne, but they were unable to convert, and their season would end with a 3-1 loss.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Amherst outshot Bowdoin 23-18 in shots on goal in the contest.
 
* Burke's goal moved his final season point total to a team-leading 26. He also co-lead the team in shots on goal in the contest with 3, in a tie with Jacob Pohl.

* Palena made 15 saves.