Box Score MALDEN – The Tufts University hockey team upset the No.1 Trinity College Bantams by a 4-2 score on Saturday afternoon in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play at the Malden Valley Forum.
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| Junior Mason Babbidge had a shorthanded goal and an assist in the win. |
The Jumbos improve to 6-10-0 with a 4-6-0 record in league games. The Bantams fall to 12-3-1 overall with a 7-2-1 record in NESCAC games. The win gave Tufts a sweep of its weekend conference games, including a 4-2 final over Wesleyan on Friday night.
A tripping penalty was assessed to Jumbos early in the first period. Strong hustle plays by seniors Ross Delabruere and Cory Gottfried got the puck out into the neutral zone where Delabruere picked it up and drove in on a two-on-one with junior Mason Babbidge. A cross ice pass came to Babbidge who made a quick move to his backhand for the short-handed goal, Tufts' second in as many games.
The Bantams would respond with a powerplay goal at 13:33 of the opening period. Liam Feeney sent a pass across the blueline for James Callahan. He attempted to set up a one-time shot across the ice with Lucas Michaud. However, Michaud elected to pass back to the right side of the slot for a one-time shot by Barclay Gammill, whose shot beat Tufts sophomore goaltender Josh Sarlo and evened the score.
Tufts regained momentum with less than two minutes left in the period. Sophomore Angus Scott forced a turnover just outside the Trinity zone. He found classmate Justin Brandt on the left wing who drove in and sent a shot towards goal that senior Anthony Farinacci redirected by Bantam goaltender Tedy Loughborough, which gave Tufts a 2-1 lead.
The hosts added another tally with less than 30 seconds to play in the period. Trinity cleared to the neutral zone to change. Gottfried took advantage of the open ice and fired a pass to Babbidge who was waiting on the blueline. Babbidge quickly drove down to the left faceoff dot and fired a cross-ice pass for junior Peter Hatton who sniped a shot by Loughborough and gave the Jumbos a 3-1 lead to close out the opening frame.
The Bantams held an 18-12 advantage in the shot department.
Just after the four-minute mark of the second period, the Bantams cut the lead to one. Gammill redirected a shot by Kevin O'Leary from the right point. That was O'Leary's first career point.
The teams traded opportunities throughout the period, but the Jumbos would be the ones who got the next goal and regained the momentum and their two-goal lead. A high sticking penalty was assessed to Trinity at 17:12. The Jumbos only needed 14 seconds of the extra-man opportunity. Quick passing between Brandt and Farinacci opened the slot for Scott who quickly fired a wrister to give Tufts a 4-2 lead.
The Jumbos outshot the Bantams in the second stanza 19-12, and were holding a 31-30 shots advantage through 40 minutes of fast-paced action.
The final regulation period was the most physical of the three. The Bantams heavily outshot the Jumbos, 11-3, in the period and earned two powerplays, both of which Tufts managed to kill off.
Throughout the contest, Trinity outshot Tufts by a 41-34 margin. The Jumbos were 1 for 4 on the powerplay while scoring the one short-handed goal. The Bantams were 1 for 5 on the powerplay.
Sarlo made 39 saves in a strong winning effort for the Jumbos. He improves to 4-5-0 on the season. Loughborough stopped 30 of 34 shots. He falls to 8-2-1 on the season.
That concludes a five-game homestand for the Jumbos, who will return to action on Friday night at Middlebury College for a NESCAC contest. They are slated for puck drop at 7 pm. The Bantams return home for the start of four consecutive home games on Friday. They host Amherst College at 7 pm.
Watch Post-Game Comments by Tufts Captain Cooper Stahl ..
