Box Score SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (November 25, 2023) – After closing within one goal in the third period, the Tufts University men's hockey team fell 3-1 to Skidmore College in the opening game of the Skidmore Thanksgiving Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
The Jumbos (0-3-1) will play either SUNY Brockport or Salve Regina University in the consolation game of the tournament on Sunday at 1 PM. The host Thoroughbreds (7-0-1), ranked #15 nationally this week, advance to the championship game to be played on Sunday at 4 PM versus the Brockport-Salve winner.
Trailing 2-0, the Jumbos scored with under six minutes remaining in regulation. Junior
Harrison Bazianos brought the puck from his own blue line into the Skidmore zone. As he tried to squeeze between two Thoroughbred defensemen the puck got loose, but Jumbo sophomore
Max Resnick was there in the slot to fire it home.
Tufts would pull senior goalie
Peyton Durand with a minute remaining in the third to try to net an equalizer, but Skidmore was able to take advantage instead to up their lead to 3-1.
The Jumbos had killed three Skidmore power-plays in a scoreless first period. Durand, in another strong effort for Tufts, made 16 saves in the first frame and the Jumbos blocked 13 shots, led by three from senior defenseman
Jacob Iida.
However, the Thoroughbreds scored twice in the second period to gain a lead. On the first goal, Skidmore broke out of their own zone with a three-on-two led by freshman Bryson Russell. He sent the puck up to classmate Cooper Rice, who fired it left across the zone to junior Kaeden Patrick and then crashed the net. Rice was at the right post to jam the puck home on a pass by Patrick for the 1-0 lead at 7:11 of the second frame.
A Tufts turnover in their own end led to the second Thoroughbred goal. Senior Nick Cozzi collected the puck low in the right face-off circle and had junior Jaden York open out front. York's one-timer at 17:40 of the middle stanza made it 2-0.
After Resnick's goal brought Tufts within one late in the third, Skidmore junior Jack Strauss scored from the slot into an empty net with assists from junior Danny Magnuson and junior Zach Frisk to put the hosts up by two with 55 seconds on the clock.
Durand, who had 37 saves in Tufts' 1-1 tie at Babson on Tuesday, had 35 this afternoon. Thoroughbred senior Tate Brandon finished with 20 stops.
Shots were 38-21 in favor of Skidmore, who went 0 for 4 on power plays. Tufts has now killed 16 of 18 power play opportunities by its opponents (.889). The Jumbos were 0 for 2 with an extra man today.
--JUMBOS--
