Hockey Clinches Home Playoff Berth With 3-1 Victory at Bowdoin

BRUNSWICK, ME (February 16, 2024) - The Tufts University hockey team clinched a home-ice berth in the upcoming NESCAC Playoffs with a 3-1 victory at Bowdoin College on Friday night.

With the victory Tufts moves past Bowdoin into second place in the conference with 32.5 points. The Jumbos (12-9-2, 9-7-1 NESCAC) also earned their 12th victory overall, the team's most since the 2011-12 season. They will host a NESCAC Quarterfinal next Saturday (Feb. 24) for the first time since that 2011-12 season as well.

For Bowdoin (13-6-4, 9-4-4), it was their second loss in a row after a six-game unbeaten string. The Polar Bears are now third in the league with 32 points.

The Jumbos got started tonight with a goal at 8:11 of the first period. Sophomore Liam O'Hare took a hit at the Bowdoin blue line, but kept his balance and was able to keep the puck in the zone as it arrived simultaneously. He sent it over to sophomore John Mulvihill at the top of the left face-off circle and he turned and fired it past Bowdoin senior goalie Alex Kozic for a 1-0 Tufts lead.

Bowdoin would tie the game when freshman Jack Barbro intercepted the puck in his own neutral zone and skated it all the way into the Tufts zone to the left of the net where he put a shot on. Tufts senior Peyton Durand made the save, but freshman Bryce Bollman popped in the rebound at 5:47 of the second period for a 1-1 score.

However, in the last minute of the second period, Tufts' Cole Dubicki cleared a puck from his own zone to center ice. The Bowdoin defenseman who was first to the puck misplayed it though, and O'Hare was there to take it in alone on Kozic. He scored with 17 seconds left in the frame and the Jumbos led 2-1.

Into the middle of the third, Tufts pushed its lead to two during a stretch of great puck possession in the Polar Bear end. Junior Tyler Sedlak fed senior defenseman Cam Newton, who took the puck down the right side of the ice before feeding sophomore Max Resnick in the slot for the third Tufts goal at 10:33 of the period.

Durand would make nine saves in the final 10 minutes of the third, including three after Bowdoin pulled the goalie for the final 3:22 of action. He finished with 30 saves overall. Bowdoin outshot Tufts 31-19 for the game, with Kozic totaling 16 saves.

The Jumbos finish their regular-season tomorrow at Colby College in a 3 PM start. Bowdoin hosts Connecticut College on Saturday at 3 PM.