Box Score 
(Feature photo courtesy of Team Shred Photography)
BRUNSWICK, Maine – In their final regular-season game, the Tufts University hockey team fell to the Bowdoin Polar Bears in overtime by a score of 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at Sydney J. Watson Arena in Brunswick, Maine.
It was Bowdoin that quickly got on the scoreboard first, scoring just 31 seconds into the game. Freshman Luke Wheeler received a Patrick Callahan pass from behind the net and finished it for the goal to take the early 1-0 lead. Both teams would hold each other scoreless for the remainder of the period, but the scoring opportunities were plentiful. The Jumbos' best chances came on a power play halfway through the period, putting seven shots on goal, including great one-time slapshot chances from Tom Tresca and Cam Newton that were saved by Bowdoin's sophomore goalie Alex Kozic. Almost two minutes later, Bowdoin had a power play of their own where Wheeler collected a loose puck after a save from Tufts goalie Peyton Durand and sent it off the post. The Jumbos went on to successfully kill the power play, sending the game to the second period with a 1-0 Bowdoin lead. Durand finished the period with 19 saves.
There was much more offense in the second period, starting with a Jumbos goal just over seven minutes into the period. After sophomore defenseman Andrew Gunlock got in the way of a 2-on-1 pass from Bowdoin to break up their opportunity, Tufts transitioned, and Tyler Sedlak (pictured) skated past the defense on a breakaway and rifled a shot into the top right corner for the goal. The Polar Bears did not waste any time responding, scoring just 19 seconds later when junior Patrick Ault collected a loose puck near the right post after a Durand save and finished it into the back of the net to give Bowdoin a 2-1 lead. With seven minutes remaining in the period, the Jumbos found themselves on a 5-on-3 disadvantage, but managed to kill off the penalties, following that up with a Jacob Iida goal with a cross-ice assist from Andrew Maynard to tie the game back up. The game seemed to be going to the third period with the score at 2-2, but Bowdoin's Jack Studley possessed the puck as the clock was getting close to zero and fired off a shot as time expired that made its way past Durand for the buzzer-beater goal to give the Polar Bears a 3-2 lead heading into the third.
For the majority of the third period, both teams went back and forth and could not find the back of the net. The Jumbos' first great scoring opportunity came with 3:27 left when Gunlock found himself with an open look at the goal, but his shot was saved by Kozic. Durand kept Tufts in the game making nine saves on nine shots on goal in the period and eventually, Tufts tied it up with just 12 seconds left in the game when Sedlak received a pass from Harrison Bazianos, who was behind the net, and fired it into the top left corner to tie it up at 3-3 and send the game to overtime.
It didn't take long for Bowdoin to score the game-winner, as Nate Clark collected the puck after a Callahan faceoff victory just over one minute into the overtime period and skated forward towards the goal and sent a wrist shot past Durand to end the game at 4-3 in favor of the Polar Bears.
Durand saw a lot of action throughout the game, making 45 saves compared to Kozic's 35. The Jumbos had seven different point scorers with Sedlak leading the way with two points on two goals. Callahan also finished the game with two points for Bowdoin on two assists. Bowdoin won the shots on goal battle 49-38 as well as the faceoff battle 44-32. Both teams also had four power play opportunities that did not result in goals.
Next, the Jumbos will host a NESCAC Tournament play-in game as the #8 seed against either Connecticut College or Middlebury with the date and time to be announced.
Written by Tim O'Brien, Athletic Communications Intern
