MALDEN, MA (January 18, 2024) – Junior goalie Gus Bylin was sharp with a career-high 43 saves as the Tufts University hockey team earned a much-needed 5-2 victory against Amherst College in a NESCAC game at Valley Forum on Saturday.
The Jumbos (5-7-1, 3-5 NESCAC) had a strong effort overall to end a five-game losing streak with the victory. In addition to Bylin's play, Tufts killed six of seven power-play opportunities awarded to the Mammoths. The Jumbos also scored in the final minute of a period twice to help notch their highest goal total in the last 10 games.
Amherst lost for the first time in three games, dropping to 7-6-1 overall and 4-4-1 in NESCAC.
Bylin had 13 saves in the first period when Tufts took a 1-0 lead. They scored with 0.8 seconds left in the frame, as senior
Harrison Bazianos finished off a two-on-one with a rebound of a shot from senior
Brennan Horn into a wide-open net.
Tufts extended its lead to 2-0 at 13:19 of the second period when freshman
Kodi Dotterer sent sophomore
Marcus Sang in on the right side. Sang rang one high off the right post, but retrieved the rebound and scored. The goal came not long after an Amherst power play had ended.
The Mammoths were able to get one past Bylin barely a minute later to close the gap to 2-1. Sophomore Jacob Pohl dropped the puck to junior Zachary Murray in the slot and he held it to make a move around Bylin and tuck it in the goal at 14:28.
Bylin had 16 stops in the middle stanza, including one on a break-away by Amherst sophomore Oliver Flynn not long after the Mammoths' goal. The Jumbos would then get another last-minute tally to take a 3-1 advantage. With two defenders on him, junior
Max Resnick slid a pass across to senior
Tyler Sedlak on the right side. He charged into the zone and ripped a shot past Amherst senior goalie Connor Leslie with just 19 seconds on the clock.
The visitors got within 3-2 by capitalizing on their sixth power play opportunity early in the third. During heavy action in front of Bylin, Mammoth senior Bobby Luca poked one in from right in front just four minutes into the frame.
The Jumbos were able to get the important next goal though to lead 4-2. After sophomore
Trace Norwell won a face-off in the Amherst end, he sent the puck to the left where Horn lunged to get a stick on it and score at 12:20 for a two-goal lead.
Tufts added an empty net goal with two minutes left in regulation when Resnick sent a long shot from the outside edge of the left circle in his own end down the ice into the vacant goal for a 5-2 Tufts lead. With 14 third-period saves, Bylin and the Jumbos closed out the victory.
Horn, Resnick and Sedlak all had a goal and an assist for the Jumbos. Flynn assisted two goals for Amherst.
Shots finished 45-35 in favor of the Mammoths. Leslie started for Amherst and made 18 saves. Sophomore Andrew Palena had entered late in the second period and finished with 12 saves.
--JUMBOS--
