AMHERST, MA (January 17, 2026) – Freshman goaltender
Caio Bernardini stopped 16 shots in his collegiate debut as Tufts University came back from down two goals to capture a 5-4 win over Amherst College in NESCAC play Saturday afternoon at Orr Rink.
Tufts fought their way back into the win column after a two-game skid, while Amherst falls to 3-5-1 in conference play.
The Jumbos opened the scoring 2:39 into the first period as
Maddox Lizotte tallied his first goal of the season.
Ethan Ullrick shoved a pass along the right side of the ice to
Brendan Fennell who found Lizotte open in the slot, Lizotte fired the puck off the left pad of the Amherst goaltender corralled his rebound and buried it home to give Tufts an early 1-0 lead.
Amherst responded under 12 minutes later to bring the game back to even on a shorthanded opportunity. Quinton Gove fed a stretch pass through the neutral zone to Ryan Corcoran, the Mammoth winger slid the puck across the slot to a ready Vincent Velocci who one-timed it past
Gus Bylin.
Amherst piled on three early second period goals to give the Mammoths a 4-2 advantage with over 14 minutes remaining before intermission. John Small scored 45 seconds into the frame, Josh Burke scored 4:05 into the period, and Jacob Pohl scored his first goal of the season with 14:34 remaining.
Tufts notched two goals as well in the high-scoring second stanza.
Max Resnick caused a turnover in the offensive zone with a calculated forecheck along the right boards. Resnick slipped a quick pass to Fennell, Fennell softly touched it to Ullrick who snapped it past Vincent Lamberti, making it a 2-2 game.
The Jumbos cut the two-goal deficit in half with a marker from
Trace Norwell 17:54 into the second.
Drew Pitts moved the puck up the left side of the defensive zone to
Dennis Davidson, Davidson lofted a pass through the legs of a Mammoth defender finding Norwell for the breakaway score.
Resnick knotted the game at four with under eight minutes remaining in the third period. Fennell fed a cross-ice tape-to-tape pass to Ullrick who made a series of moves to carve straight through the Amherst zone. Ullrick dropped the puck off to Resnick right in front and Resnick snuck it by Lamberti.
With just 1:45 remaining in the final frame and the game tied at four, Norwell potted the game-winner and his second of the game to give the Jumbos a thrilling 5-4 victory. Lizotte whipped the puck around the end boards to
Cole Dubicki who found a streaking Norwell in the high-slot and Norwell wristed it home.
Lamberti made 19 saves in the contest. However, Bernardini did not concede a goal after he replaced Bylin in the second period.
Amherst led the shot department 26-24. Both teams failed to capitalize on power play opportunities. Amherst was 0 for 4 and Tufts finished 0 for 3 on the man advantage.
Tufts returns to action on Friday for a 7:00 puck drop at Wesleyan.
--JUMBOS--
