After suffering its longest losing streak in a decade, the hockey team righted itself on Saturday night with a come-from-behind, 5-3 victory over the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds at home. The Jumbos entered the contest as losers of their last six games and eight of their last ten, but now stand at 4-8 overall and 3-6 in the NESCAC/ECAC East Division.
"It was an important win for us," coach Brian Murphy said. "Certainly for our confidence more than anything. But the guys have been working hard, even through the losing streak."
Tufts, which fell behind early 1-0 in the first period and then again 3-2 in the third, responded with three unanswered goals over the final 13 minutes of play to claim its third comeback win this winter. In fact, in the games they have won, the Jumbos have outscored opponents 13-4 in the third period, while opponents hold an 11-6 advantage in the squad's eight losses.
Murphy, however, cannot definitively explain his team's knack for coming from behind. "I'm not really sure what that is," Murphy said. "It's certainly an indication that this team has a lot of heart, though, and there not just going to lay down."
Freshman Brandon Hays was integral in the most recent comeback, assisting on the game-tying goal and then scoring the game winner.
"He's a good player," Murphy said. "He's talented, and I think his best hockey is still ahead of him, as with all the freshmen."
After the Thoroughbreds' Joe Hooker tied the game at 1:48, senior co-captain Chris Dunn capitalized on Tufts goalie Ian Kell's mistake during a Jumbo power-play to put the visitors up 3-2 with 14 minutes to play. Kell misplayed the puck, resulting in a wide open net for Dunn and Skidmore's first short-handed goal of the season.
But the momentum began to swing after Hays set up classmate Matt Knaiz' tap-in score at 7:29 in the final period. Seven minutes later, Hays scored what proved to be the game winner when he finished a drop pass from junior tri-captain Mike Carceo from the left face off circle. Carceo, who has recorded at least one point in ten of the team's 12 games, added an insurance goal with 13 seconds left on the clock to seal the victory.
Skidmore opened the game's scoring with just under two minutes to play in the first, before goals by sophomore Timm Schatz and freshman Shawn Sullivan gave Tufts a 2-1 lead of its own heading into the final stanza. Less than six minutes later, however, the Jumbos were back in familiar territory - behind in the third period.
Kell made 29 saves on the night to register his second win of the season, while his counterpart Jon Olson stopped 21 shots. Skidmore drops to 2-9-1 overall with the loss, and 2-6-1 in the ECAC East.
Just one night earlier in the same venue, it was the Jumbos who had no response, as visiting Massachusetts College's three unanswered goals in the second period proved to be the difference in a 5-2 Tufts loss.
The two teams traded goals in the first period, before the Mohawks erupted for three goals in seven minutes to bury the Jumbos. Chris Pettingill struck first at 7:35 before sophomore Nick Cote put home a short handed tally at 11:49. Then Cote's second goal of the period and third of the game gave Mass. College a commanding 4-1 lead with 5:14 left in the middle frame. Overall, Mass. College outshot Tufts 17-9 in the period.
"We definitely didn't play well in the second period," Murphy said. "We just sort of stood around and we're out of sync."
Tufts would make it a game again, though, when Jon Hurd recorded his second goal of the game at 18:26 to pull the Jumbos within two. But Cote came back to haunt the Jumbos at 14:26 with his fourth goal of the contest.
"Mass. College is a pretty good team," Murphy said. "They're better than their record indicates."
The previous weekend, home ice advantage proved to be meaningless as the Jumbos were losers of two straight conference match-ups in Malden. After suffering a 10-0 trouncing at the hands of the powerful Middlebury Panthers on Jan. 5, Tufts played tight with Williams before ultimately bowing to the Ephmen, 4-3, the next evening.
"Middlebury is just an awesome team," Murphy said. "I take a lot of responsibility for that game, though, I should have prepared them better. But we played well against Williams, and had a chance to win."
After falling behind 2-0 in the second against Williams, the Jumbos knotted the score at 2-2, before a Williams goal with a minute and a half later put the Ephmen up 3-2. Tufts tied the game again with 11 minutes to play on sophomore Pat Byrne's beautiful deke goal off a feed from Carceo. Three minutes later, however, Williams would reclaim the lead for good on a rebound goal.
"It really could have gone either way," Murphy said. "But those are the kind of games that in the next couple of weeks and in the next couple of years we should be able to win."
On Friday, Murphy's Jumbos will have to gear up for another challenge when they travel to Brunswick, Maine to take on conference rival Bowdoin.
"We're focusing on getting better every week and gelling as a team at this point," Murphy said. "When you're playing with as many young guys as we are, that's what you have to be looking at: grasping systems and gelling as a team. We're getting there."
