MIDDLEBURY, VT (November 21, 2025) – Junior goalie Andrew Heinze made 26 saves for his seventh career shutout as the Middlebury College men's hockey team defeated Tufts University 1-0 in a NESCAC game Friday night at Kenyon Arena.
The victory is the first of the season for Middlebury (2-1), while Tufts (2-1) takes its first loss following a pair of opening-weekend wins.
The lone goal was scored nine minutes into the game when Middebury senior defenseman Kevin Golden started a Panther rush with a pass from his own end to junior Dante Polombo near center ice. He took the puck into the Tufts zone, used a defenseman as a screen and snapped his shot past Jumbo senior goalie Gus Bylin low on the right side.
Bylin would save every other shot he faced on the night, finishing with 34 saves in the Jumbo net. However, Heinze could not be beaten as he recorded save totals of nine, nine and eight in the three periods, respectively.
Tufts pulled Bylin with 1:23 remaining in the third period. Senior
Max Resnick soon had a shot from close in on the left side, but Heinze smothered it. The Jumbos fired two other attempts wide, but Middlebury was able to clear the puck twice to run out the clock.
Junior
Mason Daignault had hit the post on a shot from low on the left side early in the third period, among other chances by the Jumbos that Heinze was able to turn aside.
Shots on goal finished 35-26 in favor of Middlebury. Neither team capitalized on the power play, with the Jumbos 0 for 1 and the Panthers 0 for 2.
Middlebury's victory ends the Panthers' 10-game winless streak (0-9-1) versus the Jumbos that dates back to 2020. The last Middlebury win the series was on November 22, 2019 (2-1).
Tufts continues its weekend at Williams College for a 3:00 puck drop on Saturday.
--JUMBOS--
