Box Score
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| Matt Pugh scored two goals including the game winner vs. Castleton on Saturday |
Parts of this recap courtesy of Castleton Sports Information
RUTLAND, Vt. – The Tufts men's ice hockey team found themselves down by two goals midway through the third period, but the Jumbos scored three unanswered goals to earn a 4-3 win over Castleton on Saturday afternoon in the consolation game of the Rutland Herald Invitational. Freshman Brian Brown and sophomore Matt Pugh each had two goals for the Jumbos on the day.
With the win, the Jumbos improve to 2-4-1 overall, while the Spartans suffer their fourth consecutive loss to move to 3-6 on the season. Ryan Frost scored two goals with one assist and Derek Gingera tallied two assists in the losing effort.
Tufts grabbed the first lead of the contest less than two minutes into the game when Brown fired a one-timer past Mark Hochman, who was making his first start of the year in net for Castleton, to give the visitors a quick 1-0 advantage. Classmate Zack MacQueen and senior William Sellers assisted Brown on his third goal of the season.
However, the hosts wasted little to time respond as Braedan Moffatt scored his first collegiate goal at the 6:59 mark to tie the game at 1-1. On a 2-on-1 opportunity, Brock Labelle sent a pass across the face of net that Moffatt finished home to even the contest at one.
Just over midway through the initial frame, Castleton took the lead when Frost found the back of the net. Gingera picked up his first of the day on the play as he dished the puck to Frost who fired it home 10:30 through the first to make it 2-1 in favor of the hosts.
In the second stanza, the most threatening play occurred when Castleton received a 5-on-3 advantage midway through the period. Frost nearly scored during the power play when his one-timer through traffic troubled the Jumbos freshman goalie, Ryan McConnell, but it was saved and eventually cleared from the visitors' zone. McConnell was making the second start of his collegiate career on Saturday afternoon.
After a scoreless middle frame, Frost doubled the Spartans lead to 3-1 when he tacked on his team-leading fourth goal of the season. At the 8:18 marker in the third, a pass found Frost on the wing, and the team's captain struck it home to give the hosts a two-goal advantage.
The Jumbos battled back, and 12:14 into the third, the visitors cut their deficit back to one. Freshman Dan Kelly's pass found Brown at the blue line, giving him a breakaway opportunity, and the forward finished his shot just under Hochman's pads to make it 3-2 with 8:11 remaining in regulation. The goal was Brown's second of the game, and moves him to a team-leading four goals on the season.
Less than thirty seconds later, Tufts evened the contest at three goals apiece when Pugh netted the rebound from sophomore Sean Kavanagh's shot at the 12:14 marker in the third. Senior Tyler Voigt was also credited with an assist on the goal.
Less than a minute later, the Jumbos reclaimed the lead for the first time since the opening frame when Pugh rifled a shot into the top corner of the net with 7:10 remaining in the contest for his second goal of the day to secure a 4-3 victory for the visitors.
Hochman, who is now 1-1 overall, suffered the defeat for Castleton after stopping 17 of the 21 shots that he faced, while McConnell recorded 31 saves en route to his first win of his collegiate career in his second start.
The Spartans return to action next weekend at Spartan Arena when they host conference foes St. Michael's and Norwich on Friday at 7 pm and Saturday at 4pm.
The Jumbos return to action when they take the ice at home on Friday, December 5 against Colby at 7:00 pm at the Valley Forum. They continue the home stand with a Saturday face-off with Bowdoin at 4:00 pm.
