AMHERST, Mass. – Hamilton College's Alex Danis '26 recorded his first hat trick and the Continentals hung on for a 7-6 NESCAC win over the Amherst College Mammoths inside Amherst's Orr Rink on Friday, Jan. 19.
 

Season Update

• Hamilton (10-4-1, 6-3-1 NESCAC) has won six of its seven games away from home this season.
• The Mammoths (9-6-0, 5-5) won two out of five contests on their five-game homestand.

 

How It Happened

• The Continentals jumped out to a three-goal lead midway through the first period. Danis broke the ice 6:10 into the period when his wrist shot from the high slot beat the goaltender to his glove side. The goal was set up by Hamilton's strong forecheck that forced an Amherst turnover in its defensive zone. Jeremy Smith '24 grabbed the puck out of the air and passed to Danis from the right-side boards.
• Jackson Krock '26 gave the Continentals a 2-0 advantage at 9:11 with a power-play goal. Grisha Gotovets '25 carried the puck into the slot and shuffled it off to Krock for a one-timer from the right faceoff circle. The puck deflected off the goaltender's blocker side and tumbled into the goal.
• Danis' second goal came with 8:36 left in the first. A centering pass by Noah Leibl '27 from the left side of the net deflected off one of the Mammoths to Danis in the slot and he roofed a wrist shot high into the back of the net.
• The goal by Danis chased starting goaltender Alex Wisco, and that seemed to fire up the hosts. Ben Kuzma put Amherst on the scoreboard with 6:53 remaining in the period, and Josh Burke pulled the Mammoths within a goal with 5:04 to go while they skated on a 5-on-3 power play.
• Luke Tchor '27 scored Hamilton's fourth goal of the period with 1:36 left on a great individual effort. Tchor skated with the puck from the bottom of the right faceoff circle, behind the net and back out into the left faceoff circle. He suddenly turned at the faceoff dot and fired a wrist shot past the surprised goaltender.
• Amherst thought it had cut its deficit to one goal again just before time expired at the end of the first period, but the referees ruled the puck crossed the goal line a split second after the clock hit zeros. Vincent Velocci got that goal back for the Mammoths 1:13 into the second period and made it 4-3.
• Any momentum Amherst gained with Velocci's goal was lost 43 seconds later when one of the Mammoths was sent off for a five-minute major penalty. The Continentals made them pay with two more power-play goals.
• Hamilton buzzed around the Amherst net as Tchor put a backhand shot on goal that the netminder couldn't secure. Krock whacked at the rebound and knocked the puck away. Ben Zimmerman '26 crashed the net and buried the puck into the back of the net from near the right post three minutes into the second.
• Late in the five-minute power play, Gotovets scored and the Continentals doubled up the Mammoths, 6-3. Zimmerman's pass across the slot found Gotovets for a one-timer into an open net from the dot in the left faceoff circle at 6:21.
• Danis completed his hat trick with 7:10 left in the period. A pass by Leibl from behind the net found Danis at the bottom of the left faceoff circle and his wrist shot sailed over the goaltender's left shoulder for a four-goal cushion.
• Amherst nearly came all the way back in the third period. Bobby Luca scored an unassisted goal at 4:20 and Ryan Tucker added another goal with 7:25 remaining. The Mammoths had a 6-on-4 advantage late in the third after a penalty on the Continentals for cross-checking with 2:52 to go, and then the goaltender went to the bench in favor of a sixth skater with about 1:15 left. Kuzma cut Hamilton's once commanding lead to one goal with 60 seconds remaining.
• Amherst won the ensuing faceoff and pulled its goaltender again, but one of the Mammoths was sent to the box for hooking with 37 seconds to go and their comeback hopes were dashed.

 

Notes

• Danis came into the evening with no goals this season. His hat trick was the first by one of the Continentals since Matt Gellerman '24 accomplished the feat against Connecticut College on Feb. 12, 2022.
• Tchor, Gotovets and Krock had a goal and two assists each. Tchor has eight points in the last three games and leads the NESCAC with 11 goals and 21 points.
• Gotovets has at least a point in six of the last seven games.
• Krock posted his first three-point game at Hamilton.
• Zimmerman scored for the first time since Dec. 9. He finished with a goal and an assist.
• Leibl had two assists for his first multi-point game with the Continentals.
• Ryan Brown '25 was credited with two helpers and registered his second multi-point game at Hamilton.
• James Philpott '25 tied for the conference lead with his 10^th assist.
• Josh Nadler '26 made 14 of his 31 saves in the first period for the Continentals.
• Hamilton, which was 3-for-6 on the power play, set a season high with the seven goals.
• The Continentals swept the season series against Amherst. Hamilton blanked the Mammoths 3-0 in the season opener back on Nov. 17.

 

Next Game

The Continentals host nationally ranked No. 2 SUNY Geneseo (15-2-0) in non-conference action on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.