MIDDLEBURY FORWARD ANDREW Seaman tips the puck just wide of the Amherst goal in Saturday’s men’s hockey home game.
Independent photo/Steve James

PANTHER FORWARD CHRIS Garbe levers the puck into the net’s left side to score the game’s first goal, but Amherst rallied for the victory against the host Middlebury men’s hockey team on Saturday.
Independent photo/Steve James

MIDDLEBURY — The Panther men’s hockey team dropped a pair of home games over the weekend to NESCAC rivals. The Middlebury College team’s record dropped to 1-5-2, 1-4-1 in league play.

This was college teams’ final week of action before the Panther athletes sat for final exams and then headed home for the holiday break.

On Friday Hamilton improved to 6-1 with a 5-1 victory over the Panther men’s hockey team. The Continentals scored three times in the first period and outshot Middlebury, 40-22.

Hamilton’s Luke Tchor scored with 1:31 gone in the opening period, and Justin Biraben made it 2-0 at 11:41 with a tip-in. At 17:45 Ben Zimmerman added a shorthanded breakaway goal.

Middlebury cut the deficit to 3-1 less than a minute later in the first period, when Jin Lee deked a defender and snuck the puck past Hamilton goalie Charlie Archer.

With four minutes gone in the middle frame, Hamilton’s Max Bulawka one-timed a pass home.

The Panthers had a good chance with 3:27 left in the second period, but Archer gloved Matt Myers’ spin-around attempt from between the circles.

The Panthers controlled most of the third period. Their best chance coming with 12:24 to go, when Archer sprawled to deny Andrew Seaman’s shot from the right dot. Hamilton added its fifth goal at 15:59 mark on another Bulawka one-timer. Jake Horoho made 35 saves for Middlebury.

On Saturday Amherst (5-3, 3-2 NESCAC) came away with a 3-2 victory in a statistically even game, but one in which the Panthers did not hold a 2-0 lead.

Both teams had chances in the first period before the Panthers took the lead. Middlebury goalie Andrew Heinze stopped Josh Burke on a two-on-one rush in the third minute, and Mammoth goalie Connor Leslie slid to stop Chris Garbe in the 16th minute.

AMHERST GOALIE CONNOR Leslie sprawls to deny Panther forward Dante Palumbo a scoring chance during Saturday’s game in Kenyon Arena.
Independent photo/Steve James

Middlebury scored with 3:36 left in the period: Garbe tucked the puck inside the left pipe on a cross-crease pass from Wyatt Pastor.

The Panthers killed three penalties early in the second period and nearly scored on shorthanded bid by Myers. Then Lee gave Middlebury a 2-0 lead at 9:01. Lee won the puck, worked his way outside of the crease and lifted a shot home.

PANTHER FORWARD MAX Noll watches Jin Lee’s goal enter the Amherst net during the Middlebury men’s hockey team’s home game on Saturday.
Independent photo/Steve James

The Mammoths quickly made it 2-1 when Connor Guest netted a rebound. Amherst then knotted the contest  at 14:40, when Quinton Fox scored in a scramble.

Amherst earned the game-winning goal with 1:34 gone in the final period. Fox worked his way out front and shoveled a shot home

In the middle of the period Leslie denied back-to-back shots from the left side by Andrej Hromic and Garbe. The Panthers also had an apparent goal that Garbe tucked in disallowed because the play had been blown dead after the official lost sight of a rolling puck.

Over the final 4:50, the Panthers had an extra skater due to a Mammoth penalty, and the also pulled Heinze for the last 1:38. Their best chance came with 51 seconds left, but Leslie padded away a Pastor one-timer from between the circles. Leslie and Heinze each finished with 29 saves.

PANTHER FORWARD WYATT Pastor bursts between two Amherst opponents during Saturday’s men’s hockey home game.
Independent photo/Steve James

MIDDLEBURY SENIOR FORWARD Andrej Hromic tries to stuff the puck past Amherst goalie Connor Leslie in the third period of Saturday’s men’s hockey home game.
Independent photo/Steve James