The Middlebury men's hockey team pulled within a goal late in the third period but could not find the equalizer as they fell 3-2 against Tufts on Friday night.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers looked to get on the board about three minutes into the first period with a shot from Revy Mack that was blocked by Jumbo defenseman Rory Andriole. Reece Brednich picked up the loose puck in front of the net five seconds later, but his attempt went just wide of the right post.
• With 3:23 expired, Dante Palombo grabbed a loose puck in the Tufts zone and backhanded it to Jack Silverman. The forward knocked it in on the doorstep past goalie Gustave Bylin to give Middlebury the 1-0 lead.
• The Panthers did not let up as Max Noll was wide open in the zone and ripped a shot that Bylin saved off of his shoulder with 12:45 remaining.
• Tufts tied the score at one late in the third period. Harrison Bazianos picked up a loose puck deep in Middlebury's defensive zone and fired a shot over netminder Andrew Heinze's right shoulder with 46 ticks left. 
• The Jumbos had a chance to take the lead with 13:27 left in the second period. Andriole ripped a shot from the point that Heinze snagged with his glove to keep the game tied.
• Middlebury had a ripple of shots at the 9:37 mark. Brednich had an attempt that was saved by Bylin. Dimitri Tzaferis grabbed the rebound attempt and ripped a shot from the point that bounced off Bylin's chest.
• The Jumbos quickly answered back at the 10:40 mark. Liam O'Hare passed from one faceoff circle over to Andriole at the other. His bid sailed past Heinze, who was screened, to give Tufts the 2-1 lead.
• Matt Myers created a shorthanded opportunity with 5:27 remaining in the period, racing into the Jumbo zone to collect a loose puck and fired a screamer that was snagged by Bylin.
• Tufts increased its lead 3:55 into the third period when Trace Norwell passed over to Marcus Sang, who put it past Heinze for a 3-1 advantage. 
• Bazianos got a breakaway chance with 12:42 left in the game, but the Panther netminder made a pad save off his shot.
• At the 18:36 mark, the Panthers got within a goal. After pulling Heinze for an extra skater, Bobby May and Jackson Morehouse fired bids that were redirected. Mack collected Morehouse's original attempt and sliced a shot from the left faceoff dot that sailed past Bylin to make it 3-2.
• Middlebury continued the pressure with the extra skater for the remainder of the period but could not find the game-tying tally as the Jumbos held on for the victory.

NOTES

• Morehouse has tallied a point in six of the last seven contests with four goals and seven helpers during that stretch.
• Mack picked up his 11th point in the last nine games with four goals and six assists.
• Middlebury and the Jumbos faced off for the 49th time.

The Panthers conclude their NESCAC home weekend against Connecticut College on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.