The Middlebury men's ice hockey team scored three goals in Friday's first period, but four- consecutive tallies by Tufts in the second sealed the game during a 7-3 loss for the Panthers on Friday night in Massachusetts.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The hosts struck first with 9:42 left in the opening stanza on a breakout. Max Resnick rushed down the ice and timed a perfect cross-ice pass to Tyler Sedlak, who finished just over the right shoulder of Panther netminder Andrew Heinze for a 1-0 advantage.
• Middlebury answered less than two minutes later when Wyatt Pastor whipped the puck toward the mouth of the goal and found space past diving Jumbo goalie Gustave Bylin to tie the game at one.
• The Panther offense was not finished as it took the lead 22 seconds later. Bobby May collected possession on a failed clear attempt and launched a bid from the left point that changed directions and tickled the right side of the net to put the visitors ahead by a 2-1 score. 
• Middlebury capped the scoring right before the opening period buzzer sounded. Jack Silverman settled a bouncing puck and backhanded a pass to a trailing Revy Mack, who got just enough power behind the shot to muscle it into the top-right 90 to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
• The Jumbos came to life to begin the second stanza after the Panthers were tabbed with a five-minute major penalty. Harrison Bazianos fired a second attempt after his initial bid was blocked, squeaking the puck past Heinze's right shoulder to make it a 3-2 game at the 1:16 mark.
• Tufts continued the pressure with the extra skater, firing four-consecutive shots spanning 1:11 with one each blocked by Jin Lee and Jake Oblak.
• The persistence paid off for the home team as it tied the game with 5:31 elapsed. Max Resnick threw the puck into the front of the net, allowing Liam O'Hare to poke it home to tie the game at three apiece.
• The momentum continued for the Jumbos despite the major penalty expiring. Maddox Lizotte laced a puck that flew into a cluster of white and navy. Rory Andriole got enough to redirect it just passed Heinze's left pad to take a 4-3 advantage with 5:51 expired.
• Tufts continued to be a pest in the Panther defensive end, cashing in on another opportunity with 11:54 left in the stanza. O'Hare found Sedlak who buried it home past a stretching Heinze to extend the lead to 5-3. 
• Middlebury had a prime chance with an extra skater advantage with 12:00 expired with Tufts being called for a five-minute major. The Panthers peppered Bylin with consecutive shots by Morehouse and Mack, but the netminder smothered both. 
• The visitors continued to push as the final minutes trickled down in the second. After a faceoff win by Reece Brednich at the 16:56 mark, the Panther offense tested the Jumbo defense with eight consecutive shots spanning nearly two minutes. Bylin saved five of them while the other three were blocked to keep the score 5-3 after 40 minutes of action.
• After a scoreless start to the period, the Jumbos extended their lead to 6-3 on a player-up goal connection between Trace Norwell and Horn at the 11:46 mark.
• Despite the deficit, the Panthers continued to test Bylin with attempts by Lee, Brednich and Golden. The goalie stepped up to the occasion by stopping all three attempts. 
• Middlebury pulled Heinze for an extra skater with 5:26 remaining, but the Jumbos added an empty-netter off the stick of John Horn at the 16:21 mark to seal the 7-3 victory.

NOTES

• Mack, May and Palombo tallied their first goals of the season, while Morehouse and Silverman handed out their first assists. 
• Heinze stopped 27 shots in net for the Panthers.
• Middlebury and Tufts battled for the 47th time.

The Panthers close their road trip with a battle against Connecticut College on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.