MALDEN, MA (November 18, 2023) – Visiting Wesleyan University scored twice in the final six minutes of regulation to tie the game, then won it in overtime to stun Tufts University 5-4 in a NESCAC men's hockey game Saturday at Valley Forum.
The Jumbos (0-2) trailed 2-0, but rallied for four straight goals to lead 4-2 heading into the third. The Cardinals (2-0) scored twice two minutes apart at 14:31 and 16:37 of the third, and won with a three-on-three OT goal by junior Patrick Morrissey set up by sophomore Ethan Davidson.
Wesleyan scored on its second shot of the game, by freshman Zach Stimeling, 1:47 into the action. They took a 2-0 lead at 6:23 into the first with junior Owen Sweet tallying.
The four Jumbo goal scorers – junior
Sami Hakkarainen, junior
Marek Pechr, sophomore
John Mulvihill and senior
Fisher Shea – had combined for just six career goals entering today's game. The strikes for Hakkarainen and Pechr were the first of their careers. However, today this foursome strung together four in a row as Tufts came from behind to lead 4-2.
The comeback started late in the first period. On the first Tufts goal with five minutes left in the frame, senior
Clark Bolin threw the puck towards the net from the right boards. The Wesleyan defense deflected it to Hakkarainen, whose attempt was poked at by Cardinal senior goalie Marc Smith. The puck bounced up into the air over Smith and into the net.
Three minutes later Tufts would even the score at 2-2 while shorthanded. After Tufts cleared the puck to the Wesleyan end, the Cardinals went into a shift change which allowed Tufts freshman
Trace Norwell to get the puck at the Cardinal blue line. He fired a shot that Smith saved, but Pechr was alone on the left side of the net to collect the rebound and lift a back-hander into an open left side.
Tufts would carry its momentum into the second period. While Jumbo sophomore goalie Gus Bylis was saving all 14 of Wesleyan's shots in the period, the Jumbos scored twice to take the lead. Mulvihill's goal 2:44 into the second was set up by great short-handed work again by the Jumbos. Norwell forechecked aggressively to win a puck and sent a pass out to Mulvihill who could not handle it. However, as Wesleyan fumbled to get the puck out of the zone, it slipped back to Mulvihill and he caught Smith by surprise and fired it in just five seconds after the Cardinal power-play had ended.
The Jumbos took a 4-2 lead when senior defenseman
Jacob Iida played a puck off the glass from the Jumbo end. It got to senior
Aidan Lovett who skated into the Wesleyan zone and back-handed a pass to Shea coming down the left side. His shot went five-hole with three minutes left in the second period for a two-goal Tufts advantage.
Wesleyan would pull within one at 14:31 of the third on Morrissey's first goal of the game, flipping a shot through traffic from high in the zone after a face-off win by Cardinal senior DJ Dixon. Two minutes later senior Jack Marottolo got the rebound of a shot in the left face-off circle and drove it in to tie the game.
Wesleyan's Smith made four saves in the final three minutes of regulation to help send the game into overtime. In the extra session, he gloved a shot by Jumbo sophomore
Cole Dubicki to keep the game going.
At the other end, Davidson controlled a loose puck near the Jumbo blue line and opened up space to send a pass from the left face-off dot to Morrissey charging the net on the right side. Morrissey converted for the victory 1:41 into the extra session.
Tufts out-shot Wesleyan 37-30, with Smith finishing with 33 saves. The Jumbos blanked Wesleyan on seven power-play opportunities. Bylin finished with 25 saves.
The Jumbos will play next on Tuesday at Babson College.
--JUMBOS--
