Amherst's Andrew Palena (30) with the pad save on Suffolk's Josh Milso (2) as he tried to slide it by for the goal. It would be the opening game of the 2026 edition of the Cardinal Winter Classic. It would see a battle between the Amherst Mammoth and the Suffolk in front of 800 fans at the Ronald Stafford Ice Arena to see who would play in the championship game Saturday evening. The Mammoth would get the opening goal of the game at the 16:08 mark of the first period when Carson Baylis would light the lamp for the 1-0 lead. The Rams would answer right back, like 90 seconds later, when Marko Giourof would tie the game at one on a wrister. The Mammoth would not stay quiet, though, as they would regain the lead at 2-1 on Daniel McKiernan's goal at the 6:15 mark of the second period. The Rams would answer right back once again and tie the game at two on the Cristobal Tola goal two minutes later. The game would stay there through the rest of regulation, and overtime would not be needed on this day. The game winner would come in overtime for the Mammoth as Caden Olenczak would snip one through the goalie to give them the win. In the winning effort, Mammoth Andrew Palena made 29 saves as they headed to the championship against the winner of Plattsburgh State and Wesleyan. As for the Suffolk Rams, Austin McNicholas would make 23 saves as they head to the third-place game tomorrow. Gallery

Suffolk's Aidan O'Connell (20) with the crunching hit on Amherst Ryan Corcoran (13) as they went after the puck behind the net. Gallery