Box Score MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Tufts University hockey team grabbed a point in its opening weekend of the 2017-18 season with a 3-3 tie at Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon at the Spurrier-Snyder Rink.
The host Cardinals rallied from a two-goal hole in the third period to earn the tie.
The Jumbos (0-1-1, 0-1-1 NESCAC) opened the scoring with 7:37 left in the first period, thanks to freshman forward Charley Borek's first collegiate goal. Freshman forward Edward Hannon and senior forward Brian Brown picked up their first assists of the year on the tally.
Jordan Jancze put the Cardinals on the board with a power-play tally 4:18 into the second to tie the game at 1-1. Freshman defenseman Matthew Zandi picked up his second assist of the season, and junior forward Vincent Lima notched his first helper of the campaign.
Tufts built a two-goal cushion in the matter of 59 seconds during the middle of the second with a pair of power-play markers. The first one occurred on a 5-on-3 situation as freshman defenseman Craig Uyeno recorded his first collegiate goal at the 7:42 mark. Then with 11:19 left in the period, sophomore forward Machlan Sawden put his first goal of the year into the back of the net, assisted by freshman forward Brendan Ryan. Tufts took its 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
Senior forward Dylan Holze rose to the occasion for the Cardinals (0-1-1, 0-1-1 NESCAC), bringing the hosts to within one at 3-2 with 12:20 left in the third, as he netted his third goal of the season. Jancze electrified the crowd with his second goal of the afternoon, which equalized the score at the 10:31 mark, with the play developing off a strong pass from junior captain and defenseman Chad Malinowski.
Freshman goalie Drew Hotte (0-0-1) was strong in his first collegiate start for Tufts, finishing with a game-high 32 saves. Sophomore goalie Tim Sestak (0-0-1) was impressive in between the pipes for Wesleyan, registering 28 saves, including coming up with three huge stops in the five-minute overtime session.
Tufts was exceptional all afternoon on special teams, going 2-for-3 on the man advantage, and holding Wesleyan to a 1-for-9 effort on the power play. Wesleyan held a slight advantage in shots, 35-31, including an 11-7 edge during the third-period push.
Ryan and Sawden both finished the game +2 for the Jumbos, while sophomore Tyler Scroggins won 10 of 19 face-offs. The hosts dominated face-offs overall, winning 47 of 76 including an outstanding 24 for 31 performance by Walker Harris.
The Jumbos play their home opener at Valley Forum on Tuesday night versus Babson. Wesleyan will compete in non-conference action next Saturday against Franklin Pierce (4 p.m.) at the Spurrier-Snyder Rink.
Recap courtesy of Wesleyan University
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