MALDEN - Visiting Becker College scored four unanswered goals in the second period and then withstood a comeback by host Tufts in the third to earn a 6-4 upset win over the Jumbos in non-conference men's hockey action at Valley Forum Tuesday night.
Becker freshman Alexandre Breese scored a hat trick to lead the Hawks, who won their first game of the season (1-5-2). Sophomore Greg Hussey was steady in goal for the winners, making 38 saves.
Senior Kyle Gallegos scored a pair of goals for Tufts, which fell to 0-5 overall.
The game was tied 1-1 at the end of the first period after Gallegos scored just 45 seconds into the opening frame for Tufts and Gerald Owen tied it for Becker with 4:16 remaining in the period.
The Jumbos gained a 2-1 advantage when freshman Patrick Lackey notched his first collegiate goal by flipping in a rebound at 3:03 of the second. However, the Hawks would score the next four goals including two on power plays to lead 5-2 at the end of the second.
Owen, Matthew Pietrzykowski and Justin Erhart combined on a pretty power play goal scored by Erhart at 5:16 to tie the game 2-2. Becker took a 3-2 advantage on a Kevin Collins goal at 12:04 off a strong effort keeping the puck in the offensive zone. Breese scored the next two, including a power play goal at 16:00 for the four-goal margin at the end of the period. Hussey had 15 saves in the stanza.
Tufts came out flying in the third period and Becker aided their comeback by taking penalties. Gallegos went end-to-end for a power play goal at 5:43 which cut the margin to 5-3. After the Hawks killed another penalty, the Jumbos capitalized on Becker's third penalty of the period with a power play goal by Stewart Bell at 12:54 making it 5-4.
The Jumbos had a great chance to tie it when Lackey beat a Becker defenseman to the puck in the offensive zone and went in alone on Hussey, but the goalie flashed his left pad to make the save.
Tufts would pull the goalie with 1:10 remaining in the third, but Becker would control the play during this time and sealed the win with Breese's third goal of the game into an open net with 33 seconds left.
Owen finished with a four-point game for Becker, adding three assists to his goal. Cody Edwards finished with three assists as five Hawks tallied multiple points overall. Collins recorded a goal and an assist while Pietrzykowski had two assists.
Keith Campbell assisted two goals for the Jumbos, who had a 42-35 advantage in shots. Tufts freshman goalie Ryan Kellenberger made 29 saves.
Becker was 2 for 5 on power play opportunities, while Tufts finished 2 for 7. The Hawks were in the penalty box seven times compared to five infractions by Tufts.
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