The Middlebury men's ice hockey team was edged 3-2 by Amherst to close the first-semester portion of its schedule. The Panthers grabbed a 2-0 lead on Saturday afternoon, but the Mammoths recorded the last three tallies of the contest for a 3-2 decision.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The visitors looked for the early advantage 2:52 into the first period on a shot from Josh Burke while on a two-on-one rush, but Middlebury goalie Andrew Heinze denied the attempt with his right pad.
• The Panthers executed a nifty passing sequence for a quality chance that wound up on the tape of Chris Garbe with 4:00 remaining in the frame, but Amherst netminder Connor Leslie pushed to his left to deny the opportunity.
• Middlebury kept buzzing in its offensive zone over the ensuing play, cashing in with 3:36 left. Garbe shoveled the puck inside the left pipe on a cross-crease pass from Wyatt Pastor to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
• The Panthers maintained the one-goal advantage early in the second period, killing off a trio of consecutive penalties. 
• Middlebury nearly increased its advantage to pair on the third penalty kill, as a shorthanded bid by Matt Myers from the left post was stopped by Leslie with 4:20 elapsed.
• Working from behind the net, Jin Lee won the puck and found his way outside of the crease before lifting a shot into the upper part of the net at the 9:01 mark for a 2-0 edge.
• The Mammoths cut the deficit in half (2-1) just 13 seconds later. A shot by Max Theissen from the left point was saved by Heinze, but Connor Guest corralled the rebound and tapped the puck inside the right pipe.
• Amherst knotted the contest at 2-2 when Quinton Fox muscled his shot just over the goal line following a scramble outside the crease at 14:40.
• With 2:29 showing on the second-period clock, the Mammoths nearly took the lead but Heinze made a diving save to his right on a shorthanded chance by Tyler Bourque.
• Amherst recorded the eventual game-winning goal with 1:34 gone in the final stanza. Fox worked his way to the crease and shoveled a shot over Heinze's shoulder to make it 3-2.
• Middlebury had a great chance near the midway point of the frame, but back-to-back shots from the left side by Andrej Hromic and Garbe were thwarted by Leslie.
• Over the final 4:50 of play, the Panthers had an extra skater due to a Mammoth penalty and pulled Heinze for the last 1:38 of action. Middlebury's best bid to tie the game came with 51 seconds left, but a one-timer from between the circles by Pastor was saved by the right pad of Leslie for the final 3-2 score.

NOTES

• Heinze matched his season-best total with 29 saves, including 11 stops in both the first and third periods.
• Garbe's goal was his first this season and the 10th of his career, while Lee scored for the second time in as many contests.
• The programs played for the 92nd time with the Panthers holding a 63-24-5 advantage in a series that goes back to 1925.

The Panthers have a break from competition for final exams and the holidays before returning to action on December 31 at top-ranked Hobart with the faceoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m.