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JUMBOS WIN 5-2 AGAINST DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPION NEUMANN AT CASTLETON TOURNEY
COLLEGE HOCKEY
FINAL SCORE
Rutland Herald Invitational
Tufts 5, Neumann 2
At Rutland, VT
Saturday, November 28, 2009
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| Dylan Cooper scored the first of Tufts' four
goals in the third period |
RUTLAND, Vt. -- Behind the stellar play of sophomore goaltender Scott Barchard (Reading, MA) and four unanswered goals in the third period, Tufts defeated Neumann, 5-2, at Castleton State College's Spartan Arena in the opening round of the Rutland Herald Invitational (RHI) on Saturday evening. Neumann is the defending NCAA Division III champion.
Barchard stopped 48 shots in net for the Jumbos, leading Tufts to its first win of the season (1-2-1). Neumann, which received 24 votes in this weeks U.S. College Hockey Online national poll, fell to 3-4-2.
Tufts opened up the scoring at 8:53 into the first period on Zach Diaco's (Rumson, NJ) first power-play goal of the season. Behind the net, Matt Amico (Buffalo, NY) fed Diaco a pass directly into the slot that Diaco banged home past Neumann goaltender Ross MacKinnon (Manchester, CT) for an early 1-0 lead.
The Knights responded shortly after on a power-play of their own at 11:32 tying the game at 1-1. Matthew Valois (Ottawa, ONT) gained position in the slot and redirected a slap shot from the point by teammate Marlon Gardner (Eaglelake, ONT) past Barchard for his fifth goal of the season.
In the second, Neumann took advantage of another power-play situation at 15:18 for a 2-1 lead. Jeremy Gates (Jackson, MI zipped a tape-to-tape pass to Jordan Zalba (Victoria, BC) to the right circle, and with a quick snapshot Zalba beat Barchard glove side for his second goal this season.
Just 12 seconds into the third period, junior Dylan Cooper (Colorado Springs, CO) scored the equalizer for Tufts and the Jumbos never looked back. Set up by teammates' Tom Derosa (Charlestown, MA) and Conor Pieri (Needham, MA), Cooper beat MacKinnon glove side for his second goal of the season. Pieri, a junior defenseman, would end the contest with three helpers for the Jumbos.
Minutes later, freshman defenseman Trevor John (Grosse Pointe, MI) gave the Jumbos a 3-2 lead at the 3:06 mark. John fired a wrist shot past MacKinnon over his blocker from the left circle for his second of the season. Cory Korchin (Fountain Valley, CA) gave the Jumbos cushion room at 7:27 for a 4-2 advantage, his first of the season, and Mike Vitale (Brookfield, IL) iced the game for Tufts late in the third (19:16) with an empty net goal.
MacKinnon made 17 saves in the loss for Neumann.
Tufts will play the winner of Castleton/Becker tomorrow at 3:00
pm at Spartan Arena for the RHI Tournament championship. Neumann
will face the
loser of Castleton/Becker in the consolation game at 12:00 pm.
Press release courtesy of Castleton State College
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