MALDEN, MA (December 8, 2023) – Sophomore
John Mulvihill scored twice as the Tufts University men's hockey team won its third straight NESCAC game tonight 4-1 over Bowdoin College at Valley Forum.
The Jumbos have now earned points in four of their five conference games this season with wins over Williams College, Middlebury College and Bowdoin, and an overtime loss to Wesleyan University. Tufts is 3-4-1 overall and 3-2 in NESCAC.
Bowdoin saw a four-game unbeaten streak end as they dropped to 3-2-1 overall and 1-2-1 in the conference.
Mulvihill got Tufts started 8:31 into the game. Senior defenseman
Jack Hughes got the puck out of the Tufts end and sophomore
Liam O'Hare picked it up. He sent it over to sophomore
Cole Dubicki who brought it into the Bowdoin zone. Mulvihill charged down the left side uncovered and Dubicki saucered a pass to him at the goal mouth and Mulvihill tucked it past Bowdoin senior Alex Kozic for the 1-0 lead.
Tufts doubled their margin with 2:48 remaining in the first. With Jumbo junior
Harrison Bazianos challenging the play, a Bowdoin defender swiped the puck away from the goal line and Tufts junior
Tyler Sedlak was at the half-boards to take it. He mis-hit his pass into the slot, but sophomore
Max Resnick shook a defender to get to the puck and fire it home.
The Jumbos took a 3-0 lead with a power-play goal by Mulvihill at 6:13 of the second period. Junior
Brennan Horn passed over to Resnick wide in the left face-off circle and he sent it down to Mulvihill at the bottom of the same circle where he quickly fired a shot on goal from a bad angle that deflected in off Kozic's skate.
Bowdoin would narrow the margin to 3-1 with a strong power play 11 minutes into the middle stanza. Sophomore defenseman Aidan Lyons circled up top and passed to freshman Isaac Abbott high in the right circle who unleashed a one-timer that freshman Bryce Bollman tipped along the way for what would be the lone Bowdoin goal.
As Tufts kept its 3-1 lead well into the third, Bowdoin pulled Kozic with just under five minutes remaining to try to make something happen. However, Jumbo senior
Clark Bolin blocked a Polar Bear shot and then sent the puck from his own end all the way down the ice and into the empty Bowdoin goal for a 4-1 Tufts lead with 4:40 on the third-period clock.
The Jumbos had a decisive edge all game, finishing with a 35-24 lead in shots. Tufts senior goalie
Peyton Durand made 23 saves, while Kozic finished with 3-1 in the Polar Bear goal. Resnick (goal, assist) joined Mulvihill as multi-point scorers.
Tufts will look to continue its winning streak when they host Colby College tomorrow at Valley Forum with a 4:00 PM puck drop. Bowdoin will play at Connecticut College tomorrow at 3:00 PM.
--JUMBOS--
