Box Score MALDEN - In a game Tufts could not lose, freshman Charley Borek scored with 4:56 left in the third period and the Jumbos added an empty-net goal by sophomore Cory Gottfried to take a 4-2 NESCAC men's hockey victory over Bowdoin on Friday night at Valley Forum.
|
| Senior co-captain Nik Nugnes made 38 saves for Tufts |
Tufts and Bowdoin are battling for the eighth and final spot in the upcoming NESCAC Championship tournament. A loss tonight would have eliminated the Jumbos. With the victory, Tufts (5-14-4, 4-10-3 NESCAC) moves past Bowdoin into eighth place with 11 points. The ninth-place Polar Bears have 10 points with their 5-12 conference mark (8-15 overall). With nothing yet decided, the teams play their regular-season finales tomorrow as the Jumbos host Colby and Bowdoin travels to Connecticut College.
Tonight, the Jumbos overcame a 2-1 deficit by scoring three unanswered goals. They were bolstered by senior co-captain Nik Nugnes in goal, who finished with 38 saves including all 15 shots he faced in the third period.
With the game tied 2-2 as the clock wound down under five minutes in the third, Tufts sophomore Tyler Scroggins took possession of the puck in the offensive end and whirled around looking for an open man. He found Borek in the left face-off circle and the freshman picked the far top corner for his fourth goal of the year and a 3-2 Tufts lead.
Bowdoin pulled freshman goalie Alex Zafonte with 1:31 remaining and had a pair of face-off wins in the Tufts zone along with a shot by senior Spencer Antunez that Nugnes saved. Gottfried scored into the empty net with 38 seconds on the clock to seal the win. It was his first goal of the season.
The Jumbos had stormed out of the gate, scoring 65 seconds into the game as freshman Mason Babbidge converted from near the right post for a 1-0 lead. However, Bowdoin would own the rest of the period. They out-shot the Jumbos 15-7 in the first frame and got a pair of goals from senior Matthew Lison and sophomore Ronnie Lestan to take a 2-1 lead. Lison swooped in and scored on the rebound of a shot by senior Jason Nawrocki at 15:11 and Lestan beat Nugnes with a sharp wrist shot from the left circle with 2:40 on the first-period clock.
Tufts turned things around in the middle period, putting a whopping 17 shots on Zafonte. He stopped 16, but Jumbo senior Brian Brown beat him just inside the post at 14:02 to tie the game. The goal was Brown's team-high ninth of the year.
In the third period, both teams killed penalties and continued a frantic offensvie pace before the Jumbos scored the game-winner.
Brown, playing in his 100th game for Tufts, had a goal and an assist. Sophomore defenseman Jordan Haney blocked three shots and Scroggins won 18 of his 30 face-offs.
Zafonte made 30 stops for Bowdoin and Lestan was the top man on draws for the visitors with 11 wins.
#
