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Junior goalie Evin Koleini had 28 saves in the first two periods
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MALDEN - Hamilton College sophomore Joe Houk (Richboro, PA) scored two goals with an assist to lead the visiting Continentals to a 4-1 victory at Tufts in NESCAC hockey action at Valley Forum II on Friday night.
Hamilton is now undefeated in their last four games (2-0-2) and improved to 7-4-2 overall and 4-2-2 in the conference. Tufts has lost four in a row and dropped to 4-6-1 overall and 3-5 in NESCAC.
In the first period, Hamilton earned a 12-4 advantage in shots. However, Jumbo junior goalie Evin Koleini (Buffalo, NY) made 12 saves and the game went to the first intermission tied 0-0.
Most of the second period was played scoreless as well until Houk stepped up. His two goals came three minutes apart late in the second period to give the Continentals a 2-0 lead. The first came with 3:04 remaining and the second was with just 10 seconds on the clock, giving him nine goals on the year. Sophomore Andrew White (Franklin, MA) had assists on both goals. Hamilton controlled play again in the middle stanza, earning an 18-6 advantage in shots.
Though Tufts came to life offensively in the third, the Hamilton lead went to 3-0 at 9:16 when Anthony Scarpino (Meadville, PA) tallied his third of the season. Houk had one of the assists. Tufts got on the scoreboard at 11:04 when senior Tom Derosa (Charlestown, MA) scored to make it a 3-1 game.
Down two, the Jumbos gambled and pulled Koleini with a few minutes remaining. However, the Continentals were able to add an empty-net goal by freshman Michael DiMare (Medford, MA) with 2:05 on the clock for the 4-1 final.
Hamilton senior Scott Hefferman (Warwick, RI) improved to 7-3 with the win, making 25 saves. He had 15 of those stops in the third period when the Jumbos put 16 shots on net. Koleini finished with 34 saves as Hamilton posted a 38-26 advantage in shots overall.
Tufts welcomes Amherst College to Valley Forum II for NESCAC action tomorrow at 4 pm. Hamilton moves on to play at Connecticut College tomorrow at 3 pm.
Game Box Score
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