BOSTON, Mass.--#6/9 UMass Boston men's hockey overcame a sluggish first two periods, to earn a 3-3 tie Friday night against Skidmore College at the Beacons Ice Arena.

THE BASICS

#6/9 UMass Boston 3, Skidmore College 3

(UMass Boston 13-3-2, New England Hockey Conference 9-1-1)

(Skidmore College 4-11-3, New England Hockey Conference 4-5-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED

After falling behind 2-1 on a late goal in the second period, David MacGregor (Azusa, Calif.) and Albee Daley (Averill Park, N.Y.) both scored in the period to give the Beacons a brief 3-2 advantage. Freshman forward Adam Moodie potted his second goal of the night 2:36 later on the power-play to even the contest and help the Thoroughbreds improve to 4-1-2 in their last six conference games.

MacGregor had a career night for the Beacons, as he tied his career-high with one goal and two points. Linemate Derek Colucci (North Scituate, R.I.) added three assists of his own, while junior defenseman Tyler Bishop (Ramsey, N.J.) scored his seventh goal of the season.

In net, Billy Faust (Alta Loma, Calif.) stopped 24 of 27 shots to stay unbeaten against Skidmore. While he wasn't nearly tested as much as his Skidmore counterpart, Faust was forced to make several high-intensity saves after turnovers inside the Beacons' end.

Skidmore goalie Jack McDonald was sensational, as he stopped 57 of 60 shots. The junior netminder made 17 saves in the first, 20 in the second, 14 in the third and stopped all six shots he faced in the extra session. 

Offensively, the Thoroughbreds top line combined for another big game. Moodie scored the team's first and third goals, while junior Marc Cibelli added two assists to his team-leading total (18). Captain Ondrej Krajnak scored Skidmore's second tally, for his third goal of the season. 

After earning a huge weekend split last weekend against rival Babson College, UMass Boston came out flat in the first of their four-game homestand.

Despite their sluggish play, the Beacons opened the scoring at 13:16, thanks to some tic-toe-passing. Freshman Garrison Sanipass (Northbrook, Ill.) caused a turnover in the neutral zone and Bishop fed MacGregor before darting towards the net. MacGregor sent a pass down low to Colucci, before Colucci sent a perfect centering pass to Bishop, who tapped the puck home.

Skidmore evened the contest just past the midway mark of the contest, when Moodie scored the first of his two goals. A bad turnover in the Beacons' end put Cibelli in one-on-one with Faust and Cibelli danced around the goalie, before sending a centering pass for Moodie. Moodie didn't get much on the shot, but it trickled through two Beacons bodies and a scrambling Faust for a 1-1 tie at 10:22. 

The Thoroughbreds took their only lead of the game with just 16 seconds left in the period. UMass Boston dumped the puck in and was looking for a change at the end of a power-play but they were foiled by McDonald. The goalie came out of his net and played the puck to the Beacons' blue line to create a 2-on-0 chance. Cibelli fed it ahead for Krajnak, who went top shelf to beat Faust.

UMass Boston came out flying in the third period and tied the game at 7:28. Colucci led a rush into the zone and sent a shot just wide of the net. The senior tracked down the rebound and then centered a pass for MacGregor who's high shot evened the score at 2-2.

Daley gave UMass Boston a brief lead at 10:45 of the period, off a great deflection out in front. Colucci fed freshman Gabe Chuckran (Media, Pa.) on the power-play and Chuckran's soft wrister was tipped just under the bar by Daley for a 3-2 lead.

Moodie responded back at 13:21 with a power-play goal of his own. Faust kicked away a shot from the point by Andreas Michalidis, but the rebound went right to Moodie on the near side and his shot went five-hole for a 3-3 tie. 

Both teams would have several chances to score late in the period and the extra session, but the other sides goalies came up with big saves. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

• UMass Boston outshot Skidmore 60-27 and earned a 44-28 edge in the face-off dot.
• The Beacons ended the day 1-for-5 on the power-play, while Skidmore went 1-for-4.
• With the tie, UMass Boston extended their unbeaten streak against the Thoroughbreds to nine games (5-0-4). The tie did snap a four-game winning streak for UMass Boston. Skidmore leads the all-time series 13-11-4.

WHO'S NEXT

UMass Boston will return to action Saturday at 4 p.m., when they host Castleton University in another NEHC showdown.