Courtesy of Tufts Sports Information
MALDEN, Mass. - Senior Mark Colp (Wareham, Mass.) and sophomore Brian Safstrom (Woodinville, Wash.) scored two goals apiece as the seventh-ranked Amherst men's hockey team built a 6-0 lead en route to an eventual 7-1 victory over Tufts on Friday night at Valley Forum II.
The Lord Jeffs kept their hold on first place with the win, improving to 10-2-1 overall and 7-1-0 in league play, while handing the Jumbos their first loss in four games, dropping Tufts to 5-6-1 (3-4-0 NESCAC).
Seven Amherst players posted multi-point games, with both Colp and Safstrom adding an assist to finish with three points each. Junior Nick Brunette (Chaska, Minn.) had a goal and two assists, while senior netminder Jonathan LaRose (Boyle, Alberta) anchored the Jeffs' defensive efforts, making 18 saves.
Colp accounted for the first period's lone goal, recording his fifth of the season at 9:02. Amherst finished with a 12-7 advantage in shots, forcing Tufts' senior goaltender Scott Barchard to make 11 saves in the opening stanza.
In the second period, Mike Moher (Toronto, Ontario) scored the eventual game-winner at 13:55 before Safstrom netted the first of three Jeff power-play goals with just one second remaining in the man-advantage and four seconds left in the frame.
Hoping to put the game away, Amherst added three more goals in the first 9:38 of the third period. Safstrom's second, another power-play strike, came at 1:45, while Colp tallied his second of the game at 7:24. The Lord Jeff lead ballooned to 6-0 when junior Dylan Trumble (Calgary, Alberta) scored at 9:38.
The Jumbos broke up the shutout when sophomore Kyle Gallegos (Westminster, CO) scored his fifth goal at 15:14 to make it 6-1, but Brunette wrapped up the scoring with a power-play goal at 16:33.
The Lord Jeffs, who finished with a 35-19 edge in shots while going 3-for-7 with a man-advantage, got two assists each from Mike Rowbotham '15 (Stittsville, Ontario), Aaron Duetsch '15 (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.) and Johnny Van Siclen (Carlisle, Mass.) '13. Moher finished with a goal and an assist.
Tufts' Barchard finished with 20 saves before he was replaced by senior Evin Koleini at 1:45 of the third period. Koleini stopped eight shots.
Amherst will look to extend its win streak to three when it takes on Conn. College on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3 pm.
