Hockey Retaliates With 4-0 Victory at Connecticut College

NEW LONDON, CT (February 3, 2024) - Juniors Harrison Bazianos and Tyler Sedlak both scored twice and senior goalie Peyton Durand had a 22-save shutout as the Tufts University hockey team took a 4-0 conference win at Connecticut College tonight.

The victory earns the Jumbos three key points in NESCAC, where they now sit third with an 8-5-1 mark (27.5 pts). Tonight's result also guarantees the team a spot in the conference tournament (top eight) with four games left in the regular-season. Now 11-7-2 overall, Tufts has its most victories in a season since the 2016-17 squad won 11 games.

Host Connecticut College dropped to 8-10-2 overall and 6-8 in NESCAC for sixth place (18 pts.).

Following a dramatic 4-3 loss in overtime to the Camels last night, the Jumbos came out with a strong response tonight. They out-shot the hosts 15-5 in the first period (26-9 on shot attempts), but couldn't capitalize and it was 0-0 through 20 minutes.

Most of the second period was scoreless until Sedlak put Tufts up 1-0 with three minutes remaining in the middle stanza, not long after a Camel power play had ended. Senior defenseman Chris Throndson brought the puck into the Conn zone on the left side and sent it behind the net to sophomore Max Resnick on the right. He went back behind the net and came out to find Sedlak open in the left slot for a goal and 1-0 lead.

Tufts then broke it open with three goals in the third. Sedlak scored his second of the game at 2:43, taking a beautiful blue-line-to-blue-line pass from senior defenseman Cam Newton. Sedlak broke in alone and scored making it 2-0.

Bazianos' first of the game came after Resnick took the puck from a Conn defender in the Camel end. After Resnick was taken down, Bazianos picked up the puck along the left boards, went behind the net and came around on the right side to score at 14:24 of the final frame.

Putting an exclamation point on the win, Bazianos lifted the stick of a Camel player to free the puck and then split two Connecticut College defenders and scored into an empty net while Camel goalie Sean Dynan was still leaving the ice.

The shutout was the second of the season for Durand and fifth of his career. It's the third this year for Tufts. Dynan finished with 29 saves for Connecticut College as the Jumbos out-shot the hosts 33-22.

Tufts will be looking to secure a top-four berth and quarterfinal home game in the NESCAC Playoffs over the remaining two weekends. They host Amherst College and Hamilton College at Valley Forum next weekend.