Recap Courtesy of Castleton Sports Information
RUTLAND, Vt. – The Tufts University men's hockey team captured the
Rutland Herald Invitational crown on Saturday evening, defeating
Brockport by a final score of 4-3 at Spartan Arena. Junior Mike Leary
netted a hat trick in the championship game for Tufts, earning him Most
Valuable Player honors for the tournament. Chase Nieuwendyk scored a
pair of goals, while Ryan Kangas contributed a pair of assists.Despite a strong start from Brockport (4-5), Tufts (1-2-2) took the first lead of the contest after rookie David Lackner grabbed his second career goal. Classmate Clay Berger picked up an assist on the play, as his pass to the near post led to Lackner's top-shelf finish, which gave the Jumbos an early one-goal advantage.
Tufts doubled its lead at the 6:49 mark in the second, when senior co-captain Brian Ouellette forced a
turnover and started a two-on-one break with the Jumbos shorthanded. Ouellette skated into the zone and left a drop pass for Leary, who ripped a wrist shot under the pads of Jared Lockhurst to make it a 2-0 game. Less than three minutes later, Brockport would break into the goal column with a power-play score, when Kangas took a shot from the left circle that deflected off Nieuwendyk to make it 2-1.
The third period began with a flurry of offense, as Brockport came out and scored on the first shift of the period. Nieuwendyk took a pass from Kangas for his second goal of the contest to draw the game even at 2-2 just 26 seconds into the frame. Tufts answered right back, scoring at 1:33 of the third when Leary netted his second goal of the game to give the Jumbos the lead once again at 3-2.
Tufts struck again to double its lead midway through the final frame after Leary completed his hat trick. The junior forward forced a turnover and skated in uncontested, before sliding a backhand shot through Lockhurst to give the Jumbos a much-needed insurance goal at 4-2.
With just under six minutes remaining in the game, Brockport would cut the lead in half when Chris Luker found the back of the net after ripping a one-timer from the faceoff circle top-shelf. The Golden Eagles would pull their goalie for an extra attacker with time winding down. However, they could not find the equalizer before the final horn.
Sophomore Nik Nugnes posted 39 saves in the victory for Tufts, tallying 13 saves in each period of the contest. Lockhurst, meanwhile, tallied 21 saves for Brockport despite being saddled with the loss.
Tufts failed to score on two power play advantages, but were able to capture a short-handed goal in the second frame. Brockport converted on one of their three power plays in the game. The Golden Eagles held a 42-25 shot advantage in the contest, while they also held 41-30 advantage in the faceoff circle.
Along with Leary, Tufts' Ouellette was named to the All-Tournament team for recording a pair of assists on the weekend. For Brockport, Ryan Kangas tallied four points on the weekend to earn a spot on the team, while Chris Luker's goal in the championship game earned him a nod.
All-Tournament Team Mike Leary (MVP) – Tufts Brian Oullette – Tufts Chris Luker – Brockport Ryan Kangas – Brockport Derek Gingera – Castleton
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