MILTON, Mass. - Faced with an opponent ranked among the top-10 squads in the nation, UMass Boston Men's Ice Hockey battled on Saturday afternoon, opening up a quick lead and eventually fighting to secure a 4-4 draw with Curry College.

THE BASICS
UMass Boston 4, Curry College 4

UMass Boston (0-1-1)
Curry College (0-0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beacons wasted no time at all testing the mettle of the Curry goaltending. After a pair of early shots were saved, Jude Kurtas received the puck from Chris Reppman and made good on the opportunity, finding the back of the net for a 1-0 lead with less than six minutes run off the clock.

Just a few minutes later, Koyle Bankauskas got his own helper from Reppman and Gino Carabelli. Bankauskas' second goal in as many games gave the Beacons a rather unexpected 2-0 lead with over ten minutes left to play in the opening period.

The second frame saw a shower of pucks for both goalies. Reppman decided he had had enough of sharing the puck and scored a goal of his own to stretch the lead to 3-0. Curry made a dent with their own score, but the lead was quickly three again thanks to the efforts of Owen Boudrow. Boudrow's unassisted goal gave the visitors a 4-1 advantage heading into the third.

In the third period, the Colonels showed why they were a preseason top-10 team, finding twine three times to even the game up at four all.

The Beacons wagered three shots in the five minute overtime period but could not reach the back of the net. Their defense held Curry to just one shot and secured the first point in the standings for the 2023-24 Beacons. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Reppman's four points in his first two career games lead the team and the New England Hockey Conference
• The Beacons let up just one goal on six Curry power plays
• Bankauskas' seven goals since the start of the 2022-23 season are tied with Evan Googins for the most on the team
• Saturday ended the Beacons' four-game losing streak against Curry, improving their all-time record in the series to 8-4-1

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons' first home game of the season is also their conference opener. They will host Skidmore College in the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink on Friday, November 3 at 7 PM.