Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN – The Tufts University hockey team clawed their way back late, but could not find the equalizer as they dropped their New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) matchup with No.11 Williams College, 5-3, on Saturday afternoon.
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| Sophomore Josh Sarlo made 38 saves including 15 in the first period. |
The Jumbos fall to 6-11-1 on the season with a 4-7-1 record in NESCAC games. The Ephs improve to 13-4-1 with a 10-2-0 record in league games.
The teams traded shots on goal in the opening minutes until the Ephs earned a powerplay at 1:53 of the first frame. Although the Jumbos killed off the penalty, Williams jumped on the board just 24 seconds after the powerplay expired. Niko Karamanis forced a turnover in the attacking zone. He collected the puck on his backhand and fired a backhander by Jumbo sophomore goaltender Josh Sarlo.
A powerplay came the Jumbos way late in the period, which they would cash in on. Sophomore Angus Scott won the offensive zone faceoff to sophomore Justin Brandt. Brandt passed back to junior Tom Tresca, who got the cycle going with a pass to senior Anthony Farinacci at the right hash mark. With the cycle going, Brandt attempted to feed Scott in the slot, but the pass was deflected back to Farinacci who buried a wrister from the slot.
The Ephs controlled most of the pace in the period as they outshot the Jumbos 16-7.
Tufts continued to mount pressure behind their late first-period goal. They earned a powerplay following a hook called on Williams. Brandt, Farinacci, and senior Ross Delabruere got shots during the extra-man opportunity. However, the Jumbos could not capitalize.
Williams regained the lead with 10:55 remaining in the second period. Nick Altmann won a race for a loose puck that got dumped in from the neutral zone by Jack McCool. He collected the puck at the top of the left faceoff circle and had a shortened breakaway on Sarlo. His quick snapshot beat the sophomore goaltender for his sixth goal of the season.
The Ephs added another goal 2:25 later as Tyler Cooligan got a pass from the left corner. His shot was initially stopped by Sarlo, but the ricochet bounced into the goal.
With the momentum, Williams continued to control the pace of play as they held a 33-19 shots advantage through two periods.
After a strong two-on-one by the Jumbos was saved, the Ephs responded with their fourth goal of the contest. At 14:28 of the third period, Mac Carso cleaned up a rebound off a shot from Karamanis.
With just under eight minutes to play, Tyler Scott broke free and had a clean break-away on Sarlo. However, Sarlo challenged and forced Scott to shoot. Sarlo made the save to keep the Jumbos in the game.
Delabruere won an offensive zone faceoff back to senior Cory Gottfried. Gottfried sent a pass down to the left corner for junior Mason Babbidge. Babbidge found sophomore Rune Kirby at the blueline. Kirby fired a wrister that Delabruere managed to direct by Eph goaltender Evan Ruschil at 17:25.
The Jumbos continue to score in bunches as less than a minute later Farinacci got his second goal of the contest. Brandt forced a turnover in the attacking end. He fired a wrap-around shot that Ruschil saved. However, the rebound found Scott who sent a cross-ice pass for Farinacci who quickly one-touched the pass into the back of the goal to make it 4-3 with 1:36 remaining in regulation.
McCool would add an empty-net goal in the final minute for the Ephs to put the game out of reach.
Sarlo made 38 saves in the losing effort. Ruschil stopped 35 shots on his way to an 8-2-0 record.
The Jumbos were 1 for 5 on the powerplay while the Ephs were 0 for 4. The Ephs held a slight shots advantage at 43-38.
Tufts returns to action on Friday when they return home to host Connecticut College. Puck drop is slated for 7 pm. Williams heads to Wesleyan University on Friday night for a 7 pm scheduled start.
