BOSTON, Mass.—#6 Skidmore College scored four unanswered goals and fended off #3 UMass Boston men's hockey's third-period charge to earn a 4-3 win in the New England Hockey Conference Quarterfinals. 

THE BASICS
#6 Skidmore College 5, #3 UMass Boston 3
(UMass Boston 14-8-4) 
(Skidmore College 15-9-2) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Skidmore College took a 2-1 lead after two and scored two goals in a 25-second span early in the third period to grab a 4-1 lead. UMass Boston took their timeout and answered back with two goals in the next 1:20 to cut the deficit to 4-3. The Beacons put the pressure on the Thoroughbreds the rest of the way but couldn't find an equalizer. 
 
Devin Moran (Leominster, Mass.), Chris Peters (Fairport, N.Y.) and Nolan Barrett (Wayne, N.J.) all scored for the Beacons in the loss.
 
In net, Sam Best (Woburn, Mass.) made 24 saves on 29 shots in the loss. 
 
Skidmore College captain Austin Rook scored a pair of goals for Skidmore, who earned their first postseason win since 2012. 
 
Jack Strauss, Mason Beecher and Mike Gelatt also scored for the Thoroughbreds. 
 
Skidmore sophomore goalie Brandon Tate made 39 saves on 42 shots in the victory. He made 14 saves in the second period and 16 more in the third. 
 
After a cagey opening to the contest, UMass Boston opened the scoring on an odd carom at 8:11. Corey Clifton (Matawan, N.J.) sent a centering feed that tipped off the goalies' stick, bounced off Moran and into the net for a 1-0 lead. Owen Bourdow (Saginaw, Mich.) picked up a second assist on the play. 
 
Skidmore tied the game at 1-1 on Rook's first of the game at 15:20. Zach Lindewirth fed Rook the puck along the near boards and Rook ripped a shot through traffic. 
 
The Thoroughbreds took a 2-1 lead after two thanks to a Mason Beecher short-handed goal at 12:05 of the third period. 
 
Skidmore stunned the Beacons with two goals in a 25-second span early in the third. 
 
Gelatt made it 3-1 at 3:05, when he ripped a shot from the slot off of passes from Kaeden Patrick and Matthew Monk. The Thoroughbreds made it 4-1 25 seconds later, when Zach Frisk found Rook all alone at the back post for an easy finish.
 
After the Beacons took their timeout, UMass Boston scored two goals in a 1:20 to get back into the game. 
 
Peters cut the deficit to 4-2 at 4:28 when he ripped a shot from the slot off a feed from Andy Walker (Detroit, Mich.). 
 
Barrett made it 4-3 22 seconds later, when the freshman blasted a shot past Brandon at 4:50. Senior Ethan Nitkin (Miami Beach, Fla.) and Evan Heldt (Sylvania, Ohio) earned assists on the goal. 
 
UMass Boston would continue to pepper the Throughbreds the rest of the way but couldn't manage to sneak a fourth past Brandon.
 
Skidmore put the game away with six seconds left, when Jack Strauss potted an empty-net goal. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston outshot Skidmore 42-28. The Thoroughbreds earned a 46-27 advantage in face-offs. 
• The contest marks the final game of the careers of Jeffrey Skinner (Katy, Texas), Evan Rochowiak (Livonia, Mich.), Peters, Nitkin and Heldt. 
• UMass Boston went 0-2 on the power-play and Skidmore went 0-1. 
• With the loss, UMass Boston falls to 19-16-5 all-time against Skidmore College.

WHO'S NEXT 
 
UMass Boston are set to return 25 student-athletes for the 2022-23 season.