Box Score
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| Matt Pugh's shootout goal helped the Jumbos adanvce on Friday. |
Recap courtesy of Castleton Sports Information
RUTLAND, Vt. – Tufts and Western New England battled to a 2-2 draw in the opening round of the 2015 Rutland Herald Invitational this afternoon at Spartan Arena, with Tufts advancing to Saturday's championship game following a victory in the shootout, 4-3.
Junior Matt Pugh sent home a backhanded bar-down shot in the fourth round of the shootout, giving the Jumbos a 4-3 advantage and propelling them to the championship round where they will face the winner of the final first-round contest between between Castleton and Brockport.
Pugh had one goal in regulation in addition to the game-winner in the shootout, while senior co-captain Stewart Bell tallied the other Jumbos' goal. Senior co-captain Brian Ouellette, sophomore Brian Brown, and classmate Nick Flanagan each notched an assist on the afternoon for Tufts. For Western New England, Chris Lembo and Dane Genord accounted for the two regulation scores, whereas Connor Eckenrod had the lone assist.
Austin Keiser turned in a fantastic performance for the Golden Bears, recording 57 saves with a .966 save percentage. His counterpart, junior Mason Pulde, was nearly as good, stopping 20 of the 22 shots that he faced in net for the Jumbos.
After a back-and-forth battle to start the game, Western New England scored the first goal of the contest when Lembo netted his third score of the season. With 4:18 left in the first, Eckenrod sent a stretch pass up the ice that was received by Lembo just past the blue line. The senior then skated towards the far post before finishing a backhander top shelf into the upper right corner for the score.
Tufts found an equalizer at the 7:35 mark in the second period, as Pugh slipped home a rebound in the crease on a power play opportunity. Just 11 seconds later, the Golden Bears were back in front, 2-1, after Genord finished a wrist shot across the face of the net from just outside the left faceoff circle.
With 4:35 remaining in the second, the Jumbos found an answer when Bell collected his first goal of the year. Tufts had been pressing the Western New England defense before the home squad found a breakthrough, as Genord delivered a pass through the crease to Bell, who slotted it home to bring the game back to level terms, 2-2.
After scoring the game-tying goal, Tufts maintained the offensive momentum throughout the final frame, outshooting the opposition 19-6, but the Golden Bears held strong to maintain the even, 2-2 affair and force overtime.
The Jumbos continued to press the opposition in the extra frame, putting seven shots on net and hitting the post with just 1:15 to play on an odd-man rush. Western New England, however, sustained its stout defensive play and a shootout was needed to determine who advanced to Saturday's championship contest.
In the shootout, the two teams made each of their opening three attempts before Pulde made an impressive save to deny Tyler Pionk on the Golden Bears' fourth try. On the very next attempt, Pugh skated up the left side of the ice and delivered a backhanded shot that went bar-down and in for the win. The goal was controversial, as it seemed that the puck did not cross the line. However, after the referees met, they determined that the original ruling stood, cementing the Jumbos spot in the title game with a 2-2 (4-3) shootout victory.
With the loss, Western New England (0-7-1) will play in the consolation game tomorrow at 3:45 pm, while Tufts (0-2-2) will face the winner of the other first round contest in the championship game at 7 pm.
