MIDDLETOWN, CT - Senior Nick Craven netted his second goal of the game for Wesleyan with 10:10 remaining in the third period, redirecting a shot off the Tufts goalie in front during a Cardinal power play, to help the Cardinals earn a 2-2 tie in men's ice hockey action here today.
The score remained unchanged for the final 15:10 of action between the NESCAC rivals, giving visiting Tufts the season series against Wesleyan with a 1-0-1 mark this season. Tufts' lone NESCAC victory to this point came against Wesleyan on Nov. 17, 4-2.
Wesleyan upped its current unbeaten streak this year to four (3-0-1), but the Cardinals have had little luck versus the Jumbos over the last four seasons as Tufts stands 4-1-1 against Wesleyan over the last six meetings. The all-time series record is dead even at 15-15-1.
Tufts erased a 1-0 first-period deficit with a pair of goals just 1:46 apart midway through the second period. The tying goal by freshman Stewart Bell (Marietta, GA), his fifth of the year, came short-handed as he snapped a wrister past freshman goalie Nolan Daley off a nice feed by senior Nick Metcalfe (Stoneham, MA).
Sophomore Andrew White (Rockland, MA) then finished off a fast break for the Jumbos with his fifth marker of the season at 10:36 of the middle stanza, giving Tufts a 2-1 edge it held for 20 minutes.
Wesleyan had led 1-0 when Craven scored his 11th of the year with 5:03 left in the opening stanza, slipping the puck past junior Brian Phillips (Colleyville, TX) after going in one-on-one. Craven's 12th of the year pushed the game into overtime. Craven has now picked up at least one scoring point in each of the last 13 games for Wesleyan.
The Cardinals appeared to have the winner in overtime with 41 seconds left when Keith Buehler found the inside of the net with a shot from the near side of the left circle, but an official waived off the goal, claiming the net had dislodged just before the goal was scored.
Tufts generated a slight 36-33 edge in shots on goal as Daley finished with 34 saves and Phillips collected 31.
Ahead for Wesleyan is the first of four straight NESCAC road games, beginning with a venture to Amherst on Friday. Tufts will be at home for its next start, also on Friday, when the Jumbos take on Williams in NESCAC action.
Game Box Score
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Game recap courtesy of Wesleyan University
