MEDFORD, MA (March 4, 2025) – Head coach
Pat Norton's Tufts University men's hockey team has advanced to the semifinal round of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) playoffs for the second straight season. The Jumbos will take on the Colby College Mules in the semis on Saturday at top-seed and host Hamilton College. Game time is 4:30 PM.
Tufts, the #5 seed in the conference after an 8-10 finish (26 points) in the league, won 2-1 in overtime at four-seed Bowdoin College last Saturday in the NESCAC quarterfinals. Sophomore
Trace Norwell scored the winner 16 minutes into the extra period for the Jumbos (11-12-1 overall). Third-seeded Colby had to go to two overtimes to eliminate six-seed Amherst College 3-2. Junior Max Abene had the game-winning goal 2:23 into the second OT session for the Mules.
Game Details -
Championship Website -
Ticket Information
NESCAC Semifinals vs. Colby College (14-5-6)
at No. 1 seed Hamilton College
Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Clinton, N.H. - Sage Rink
Live Coverage:
Live Stats -
Live Video
This will be just the second time Tufts and Colby have played in the conference tournament. In the 2022 playoffs which were adjusted due to COVID and all 11 teams qualified, Tufts won a first-round game against Middlebury College and then played a quarterfinal at Colby where they lost 5-1. The Jumbos are in the conference playoffs for the 15th time. With a 6-14 record in the tournament, they enjoyed their most success last season when they were conference finalists. Colby is in its 21st NESCAC Tournament (15-19 record) and is seeking a second conference title to add to the first they won in 2018.
The Mules swept the season series against Tufts with a 6-4 win in Maine on December 6 and a 3-2 overtime victory in Malden on February 21. The Jumbos had been unbeaten (3-0-1) in the previous four contests against Colby dating back to the 2022-23 season.
Colby is ranked third in NESCAC both offensively and defensively. In 25 games they have scored 79 goals (3.16 per game) and allowed 58 (2.32). On the Jumbo side, their 2.67 goals allowed per game (64 goals in 24 games) is fifth and their 2.75 goals scored (66/24) is ranked sixth.
Saturday's game will feature two players named to the NESCAC All-Conference team earlier today. Colby freshman goalie Cooper Rautenstrauch and Tufts junior center
Max Resnick are both on the second team.
In 19 games, Rautenstrauch has compiled a 1.92 goals against average and .938 save percentage that both rank second in the league. In the Tufts net, junior Gus Bylin has been as good as anyone in NESCAC for the second semester. Since returning to the starting role against Amherst on January 18, he has recorded a 1.59 goals against average and .947 save percentage in 12 games. He has overall numbers of a 2.35 GAA (fifth) and .923 save percentage (sixth).
Resnick's 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists) are 10th in NESCAC heading into the weekend. His senior linemate
Harrison Bazianos is tied for third in the league with 10 goals. Colby is led offensively by 18 points each from freshmen Massimo Gentile (7 goals, 11 assists) and Will Soloway (6 goals, 12 assists). It was Soloway who scored the overtime winner for the Mules at Tufts on February 21.
Host and #1 seed Hamilton College will play #7 seed Middlebury College in Saturday's other semifinal. The winners will advance to the championship game on Sunday (March 9) at Hamilton. Face-off for the final is 2 PM.
--JUMBOS--
