HYANNIS, Mass. – Amherst College and Hobart College each earned victories in the semifinal round of the inaugural Cape Cod Lighthouse Invitational Men's Ice Hockey Tournament at the ]Hyannis Youth & Community Center on Saturday afternoon. Amherst (3-0-0) defeated Salem State University (2-1-1) by a score of 5-1 in the first semifinal contest, while Hobart (3-4-0) topped Babson (2-4-0) in the second semifinal matchup, 5-3.

Amherst and Hobart will now face off in Sunday's championship game at 3 p.m., while Salem State and Babson will meet in the consolation game at noon.

Amherst scored the first two goals in a 2:04 span in the opener, as senior Mark Colp (Wareham, Mass.) netted his second of the season at 4:04 of the first period and sophomore Andrew Kurlandski (Kirkwood, Mo.) added his first of the year at 6:08. Salem State cut its deficit in half with a goal by senior Ian Flanagan (Hampton, N.H.) at 15:11 of the first period, but the Lord Jeffs tacked on another goal when sophomore Ryan Edwards (Rochester, N.Y.) scored at 16:40 to give Amherst a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

The Lord Jeffs scored the lone goal in a penalty-ridden second period, as Kurdlandski netted his second of the game and the season off an Eddie Effinger (St. Louis, Mo.) assist at 14:59. Sophomore Brian Safstrom (Woodinville, Wash.) later tacked on his second of the year at 12:54 of the third period as Amherst cruised to the 5-1 victory.

Amherst junior Jamie Hawkrigg (Waterdown, Ontario) joined Effinger with two assists apiece, while senior goalie Jonathan La Rose (Edmonton, Alberta) finished with 18 saves in the winning effort. Junior Sam Avoine (Ste-Perpetue, Quebec) made 27 saves in goal for Salem State. Amherst held a 32-19 advantage in shots in the contest.

In Saturday's second semifinal matchup, Hobart sophomore Tommy Fiorentino (New Hartford, N.Y.) recorded a hat trick to help the Statesmen overcome an early 2-0 deficit en route to a 5-3 victory over host Babson College.

Babson grabbed an early lead when junior Trevor Hines (Newburyport, Mass.) netted a pair of first-period goals - his second and third of the season at 2:01 and 8:16, respectively. Hobart got one back when Fiorentino potted his first of the night to make it 2-1 at 14:06 of the first, cutting the Beavers' lead to 2-1 heading into the first intermission.

Hobart evened the score at 2-2 when junior Frank Salituro (Vaughan, Ontario) scored off a Brad Richard (New Bedford, Mass.) assist at 8:04 of the second. Babson regained the lead when first-year Joe DiPietro (Pembroke, Mass.) converted a Tom Callahan (Lakeville, Mass.) feed at 14:22 of the second, but Hobart moved in front to stay when Fiorentino scored his second goal of the night with 33 seconds remaining in the period.

The Statesmen clinched the 5-3 victory with two more goals in the third. First-year Bronson Kovacs (Sault Ste Marie, Ontario) netted his second of the year at 1:56, while Fiorentino completed the hat trick with his third of the year at 18:59 to finish off the two-goal win.

Junior Martin Ausserhofer (Brunico, Italy) made 16 saves in the final 48:19 for Hobart after junior Nick Broadwater (Portland, Maine) made six stops in the first 11:41. Junior Zeke Testa (Wellesley, Mass.) turned away 30 shots in net for Babson.