MIDDLEBURY, VT (January 31, 2025) - The Tufts University men's hockey team continued its fine play of late with a 3-2 victory tonight at Middlebury College. Head coach
Pat Norton's Jumbos have now won three of their last four games in NESCAC action.
Senior
Harrison Bazianos, freshman
Rory Andriole and sophomore
Marcus Sang scored the goals, and junior goalie Gus Bylin was strong again with 31 saves. The host Panthers scored late to pull within 3-2, but the Jumbos were able to close out the win.
Tufts takes a season series sweep against Middlebury including a 7-3 final back in November. The victory extends Tufts' winning streak in the series overall to nine games in a row. The Jumbos are 9-0-1 against the Panthers dating back to 2020.
With three points earned by tonight's victory, Tufts jumps into a tie for fifth place in the conference standings. They are now 7-8-1 overall and 5-6 in the league. Middlebury falls to 8-9 and 4-7 NESCAC.
The Jumbos had to comeback from an early deficit to win tonight. Middlebury scored 3:23 into the game after Tufts turned the puck over behind its net. It deflected out to Panther Dante Palumbo open in the slot, and he backhanded a pass to Jack Silverman open at the left post for the game's first goal.
Middlebury would return the favor though, turning the puck over in their own end leading to Tufts' first goal with under a minute to go in the first. A Panther defenseman lost control of the puck while attempting to clear the zone and Bazianos got it at the top of the left circle. He picked the top right corner cleanly with his shot and the game was tied 1-1.
Tufts would notch its go-ahead goal halfway through the second stanza. On a rush, junior
Liam O'Hare dropped the puck to Andriole high in the slot. He slipped while trying to elude the swipe of a defenseman's stick, falling to a knee in the left circle. However, he quickly regained his footing while controlling the puck and zipped one past screened Middlebury goalie Andrew Heinze for a 2-1 Tufts advantage. Andriole now has two goals in his freshman season, both against the Panthers.
Meanwhile, Bylin continued his steady play in the Jumbo goal. He had stopped 22 of the 23 Middlebury shots through two periods.
Into the third, Sang scored on a power play four minutes in to give the Jumbos a 3-1 lead. During Tufts' man-advantage in the Mid end,
Brennan Horn sent the puck back down the right boards to sophomore
Trace Norwell. He took a stride into the circle and then passed to Song who was in close and shoveled a shot past Heinze.
Middlebury would close the gap to 3-2 while playing six-on-four with a power play and an extra skater after pulling Heinze. Revy Mack scored with 1:24 remaining in regulation on a rebound from the left side.
The Panthers would then play the final 1:13 with Heinze out, but Bylin would make two final saves during that stretch as the Jumbos closed out the victory. He finished the night with 31 stops.
The Panthers outshot Tufts 33-20, with Heinze making 17 saves for the hosts.
The Jumbos will look to keep it going tomorrow when they play at Williams College with a 3:00 puck drop. Tufts and the Ephs are tied for fifth in the conference at the moment with 15 points each. Middlebury welcomes Connecticut College tomorrow at 3.
--JUMBOS--
