Box Score 
HARTFORD – Despite a hot start, the Tufts University hockey team fell 6-2 to the Trinity College Bantams in a NESCAC matchup on Saturday afternoon at Koeppel Community Sports Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
It was the Jumbos who got on the scoreboard first in an eventful first period when Harrison Bazianos collected a loose puck from a fallen Trinity defender and sent a great feed to Tyler Sedlak in front of the net who beat the Trinity goaltender Patrick Pugliese for the goal. Pugliese went on to make a highlight reel save on a two-on-one, diving to get a piece of the shot with his glove for the save. Tufts took a 2-0 lead not long after though with a Nick Schultze (pictured) goal. Brendan Skarda sent the puck towards the net, ricocheting off of Pugliese's pad directly to the stick of Schultze who put it in the back of the net.
It did not take long for Trinity to respond, as they scored under two minutes later when Riley Prattson sent a backwards pass to Lucas Michaud in the slot who finished it for the goal. With 3:06 left in the first period, Trinity tied it up at two after Andrew Troy collected a pass from Devan Tongue at the point and fired a shot past Tufts goaltender Josh Sarlo. Sarlo finished the first period with 18 saves to help keep Tufts in the game including a huge glove save on a breakaway shot late in the period.
For the first 15 minutes of the second period, it was all defense and goalkeeping as there were no goals scored. Trinity's Kyle Tomaso broke the scoring drought on a power play after collecting a rebound from a Gerard Maretta shot and finishing it for the goal to give Trinity a 3-2 lead. Under three minutes later, the Bantams scored their second power play goal of the period when Jax Murray looped behind the net and sent a pass across the ice towards the goal to Maretta who finished it for the back-door goal, sending the game to the third period with a 4-2 score in favor of Trinity.
The Bantams picked up where they left off in the third period, scoring just 1:36 in. Michaud scored his second goal of the game collecting the puck and finishing it after a Prattson shot deflected off Sarlo in front of the net to make it 5-2 Trinity. The Bantams went on to score their sixth unanswered goal with 13:30 left in the period when Tomaso scored his second goal of the game after toe-dragging around a defender and sending a wrist shot into the back of the net to make it 6-2. Pugliese made some key saves throughout the remainder of the game and the score would remain the same as Trinity would get the 6-2 victory.
Trinity won the shots on goal battle 47-27 and had 45 faceoff victories compared to the Jumbos' 30. The Bantams also did not commit any penalties. Sarlo finished with 33 saves on the day and Pugliese finished with 25. Michaud had a good afternoon scoring two goals and adding an assist for three points.
Tufts will now host Middlebury College on Friday, January 28 at 7 pm at Valley Forum in Malden, Massachusetts.
Written by Tim O'Brien, Athletic Communications Intern
