Coming off of a 4-2 win over Southern New Hampshire on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break, the hockey team looks to pick up where it left off before the holiday as it takes on the UMass-Dartmouth (UMD) Corsairs tonight at 7:30 at Malden Forum. The Corsairs, a member of the ECAC Northeast, are 6-3, while the Jumbos are 1-2.
Last year, Tufts traveled to UMD and skated to a 4-4 tie in a game in which the Jumbos had their chances to win. The Corsairs went on to a 15-7-3 record while Tufts fell off a little to the tune of a 7-11-4 finishing mark.
"They have always been a good team," coach Brian Murphy said. "We used to play them every year when we were in their league, and we only beat them once. They have lost their last two, but we still have to respect them."
UMD was mauled 10-2 at Trinity on Saturday and then fell 8-4 to SUNY-Cortland on Sunday. Besides these two setbacks, UMD's 6-3 record is a testament to how dominant the team has otherwise been this season. Murphy does not categorize UMD based on their last two games, either.
"They lost to Trinity, who is one of the best teams in the whole country and to Cortland, who is always competitive as well," he said. "With the talent they have, between local talent and DI transfers, they're going to be tough."
The Corsair's talent is headed up by sophomore forward Eric Frank, who is second in his conference with 14 points (five goals, nine assists). Senior Matt Beck is tied for seventh in points with ten (four goals, six assists) and last season's leading scorers, seniors Chris Dussault and Scott Gallagher, are sfleeping giants yet to get going, as they currently have only four and five points, respectively.
Defensively, the Corsairs are led by sophomore Dan Aucoin, who is second in defenseman scoring in the ECAC Northeast with eight points (one goal, seven assists). At goaltender, UMD has had two players splitting time: Junior Kevin McGowan is 4-1 with a 3.75 goals against average and a .873 save percentage and senior Ryan Grant is 2-2 with a 3.56 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.
Murphy knows what the Jumbos are up against, but feels his squad will respond.
"We're confident right now," he said. "We switched up the lines this week to get more production out of our five-on-five offense. Half our goals have come on the power play."
While what the team does on the power play has not been of concern (third in the NESCAC, converting 31.6 percent of the time), the Tufts penalty kill has taken its hits of late. The Jumbos lead the league with 27 penalty minutes per game and as a result have a penalty kill average that is the worst in the NESCAC (64 percent). But the team is making strides.
"Our first couple of games, we faced two teams (Norwich and St. Michael's) who are unbelievable on the power play, so that put a lot of pressure on our unit," Murphy said. "But we have been working real hard in practice at playing when we're a man down, so I think we will be alright."
The Jumbos have their work cut out for them as far as keeping the puck out of the net when they are shorthanded, as the Corsairs are second in their conference on the power play with a 25.6 percent conversion rate.
As far as the week-long Thanksgiving break is concerned, Murphy doesn't think the layoff will hurt his team.
"I think we're going to be real rested for [tonight's] game," he said. "We had good, productive practices the last couple of days, so I don't think the break hurt us."
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