Though it was neither convincing nor thorough, the men's ice hockey team managed an important overtime win Monday night against ECAC Northeast opponent Plymouth State. The Jumbos improved to 16-5 overall record and a near-perfect 14-1 league mark.
Tufts jumped out to an early lead against Plymouth with two power play goals a mere 17 seconds apart, netted by sophomore Rob LaQuaglia and defensemen Chris Martin. After Plymouth cut the margin in half, junior star Jason Boudrow scored his team-leading 28th goal of the season. But the mediocre 4-18-1 Plymouth squad refused to succumb, and when junior Chris Tortorella lit the lamps with a solid wrister with only 1:56 remaining in the third, one had to wonder whether the Jumbos were on their way to dropping a frustrating game to an inferior team.
Perhaps a sense of urgency had taken hold, because senior tri-captain and star defenseman Dan Mahoney set up sophomore sniper Mike Carceo on a brilliant pass halfway into the extra frame to secure the victory. Careco's sixth game-winning goal of the season put him in a tie for first place in the nation in this category.
A tie or a loss to Plymouth would have been devastating to the Jumbos' goal of owning the coveted number-one seed in the ECAC playoffs.
The win sets up a clash of the titans tonight when Tufts visits Wentworth, a perennial powerhouse with an identical ECAC record. The showdown will decide who wins the regular season crown, thus obtaining top seed and home ice through the playoffs.
"This is by far the biggest game of the year," coach Brian Murphy said, the excitement in his voice evident even through the congestion of a head cold. "In fact, this is the biggest game in a long time around here."
A win would represent the culmination of an immensely successful regular season campaign for the Jumbos. Though ranked only fifth in a preseason poll, the Jumbos always insisted they were one of the league's elite squads, and their relatively painless march through the ECAC proved it. But victory against Wentworth is no easy task, and Tufts is aware of the difficult task at hand.
"They are an incredibly skilled team," said Murphy. "They have six or eight forwards who can score at any time. This is a good team, a very, very good team. These guys tied Middlebury (currently ranked third in the nation), they have a ton of talent."
When asked to compare the two team's styles, Murphy found mostly similarities.
"They handle the puck well like we do, and they play great special teams," he said. "We play pretty similar styles. If I had to note one difference, I would say they like to play puck control a little more than we do. I think we are a more aggressive team; they take a little more of a conservative approach."
If there is concern for Tufts outside of Wentworth heading into Thursday's marquee match up, it is the injuries that have pervaded the roster. Most are typical aches and pains associated with the grind of a four-month season, a tough league and a contact sport, but they are nonetheless a factor. When Boudrow left the Plymouth State game with an injury and did not return, Tufts had reason to worry. But his status for Thursday is not in doubt. Asked to comment on his star player's injury, coach Murphy was terse: "He's fine."
So, with a beat-up albeit full roster, the Jumbos will take to the ice tonight with the opportunity to win their league. Murphy predicts a close game.
"In a game like this, you have two evenly matched teams. The little things will decide this game: who gets to the loose pucks faster, who can control the puck, who can force their tempo on the other guy. Everyone has systems and schemes at this point of the season; everyone knows what they are supposed to go. The winner will be the team that does those small fundamental things a little better."
The puck drops tonight at 7 p.m., and directions to Valley Forum in Lawrence, Massachusetts are available online at http://ase.tufts.edu/athletics.
