After enduring a torrid stretch, facing four of the top six teams in the NESCAC - Middlebury, Williams, Bowdoin, and Colby - as well as several top teams in the ECAC East including powerhouse Norwich, the Jumbos are set to face some of the lower caliber NESCAC and ECAC East teams as their season winds down. Lower caliber, that is, according only to their opponents' records.
"The teams that appear to be weaker and are at the bottom of the standings are still excellent teams, which is a major difference from the ECAC Northeast," coach Brian Murphy said. "We still have a lot of good teams left to play. Every team in this league is good. When we say we think the toughest part of our schedule is behind is, we're speaking it terms of travel and the way we played at the beginning of the season, so that doesn't mean that we still don't have good teams left to play."
Tufts will travel to Salem State and Southern Maine this weekend, followed by road games against Babson and UMass-Boston next weekend. All four are members of the ECAC East, meaning the results will directly impact the Jumbos' playoff chances. Tufts currently sits in the NESCAC basement in tenth place at 3-8 (4-10 overall), but are within striking distance of the seventh and final playoff spot with eight NESCAC/ECAC East Division games left on the docket.
"If we can get four more wins, that would put us in a decent position," Murphy said. "We're definitely on the outside looking in. If you look at the bottom four teams, we still haven't played three of them and we beat the other one. So if you look at it that from that standpoint, we've got a shot."
The first leg of the Jumbo's quest will be Salem State on Friday night. Although not at the same level as the top NESCAC teams, Salem State will bring a talented squad of its own to the ice. The Vikings boast a 9-6-0 overall record (6-5-0 ECAC East), and have won three of their last four including an 8-0 trouncing of UMass-Boston last Saturday.
"Salem's going to be good, they're tough and have an excellent goaltender," Murphy said. "I think they're one of the two or three best teams in that loop."
Nonetheless, Murphy is confident in his team's chances. "It's one of those games where we'll be there in the end. We've been playing well and we'll continue to play well. We're playing better than we did at the beginning of the season."
On offense, Vikings feature a balanced scoring attack led by junior forwards Scott Cooper (15 points) and Wendell Richards (12), and senior assistant captain Dan Haugh anchors the defense along with junior goalie Kaleb Christenson, who ranks third in the ECAC with a 3.10 goals against-average (gaa).
"Salem is real physical," sophomore forward Pat Byrne said. "We're going to have to be tough."
Like Salem State, Southern Maine has also picked up its level play as of late. After losing its opening six games and eight of its first nine, the Huskies now stand at 6-10 overall (3-7-1 ECAC East) after going 4-2-1 in their last seven outings.
"To be honest, I don't know a ton about them," Murphy said. "I know they've got some guys who can score."
The Huskies will likely rely on a trio of forwards and senior classmates to do their scoring - Ethan Burke (20 pts), John Lauziere (18 pts), and Tony Coates (16 pts). Freshman goaltender Matt Collaton (3.16 gaa, .899 save pct.) is solid in net.
For the Jumbos, junior forward and tri-captain Mike Carceo continues to pace the offense with 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists). He ranks eighth in the NESCAC in both scoring and assists, and fourth in power play goals (four). Freshman forward Jon Hurd has recorded 16 points (9g, 7a) to date and is 11th in NESCAC scoring, while sophomore forward Pat Byrne also has 16 points overall (5g, 11a).
Aside from Hurd, three more rookies have also been consistent contributors. Forwards Gino Rotondi (6g, 9a), Shawn Sullivan (5g, 9a), and Brandon Hays (4g, 5a) are fourth, fifth and sixth on the team's scoring list with 15, 14, and nine points, respectively.
"They've played a huge role in our wins so far," Byrne said. "They're all capable of scoring goals and making plays and have adapted very quickly to the style of play."
Junior tri-captain and defenseman Chris Martin also has nine points (3g, 6a) to his credit.
The goaltending duties continue to be split between senior Ian Kell and sophomore Ben Crapser. The two sport identical records (2-5), while Kell holds an edge in goals against average (4.77-7.17) and save percentage (.859-.819).
Next weekend, the Jumbos will finally be back home to host UMass-Boston and Babson. Again, both appear to be less dangerous teams than the Jumbos are used to, with UMass-Boston (1-10-1 ECAC East, 2-13-1 overall) last in the ECAC East and Babson in seventh (2-7-2 ECAC East, 4-9-1 overall). Nevertheless, Murphy is very aware of his opponent's potentially deceiving records.
"UMass Boston lost to Norwich in overtime and Babson beat Williams, so we can't take either one lightly," Murphy said.
Looking further down the road, the squad will take on a quartet of NESCAC rivals in the upcoming weeks: Hamilton (Feb. 8), Amherst (Feb. 9), Wesleyan (Feb. 15), and Trinity (Feb. 16). According to Murphy, the Jumbos have a good shot at beating both Amherst and Wesleyan, which currently occupy seventh and eighth place, respectively, in the NESCAC.
"We still have Wesleyan and Amherst," Murphy said. "Those loom as key games."
And with all three teams potentially fighting for the final playoff spot at that point, the stakes could be high.
"I think [making the playoffs] is a realistic goal, if we can get on a roll." Byrne said. "We're just trying to get everyone healthy again, and get a win under our belt and roll from there. Colby and Bowdoin are two of the best teams in the nation, so we weren't expecting to beat them."
For now, however, Tufts will focus its attention on Salem State. "We're just going to prepare for Friday and go from there," Murphy said. "That's what we've been doing all along."
