Jumbos face must-win clash at Amherst tonight

Needing to gain two points on Amherst in the standings to attain the eighth and final NESCAC playoff spot, the hockey team is looking forward to this weekend's road trip.

The team travels to Amherst for a must-win game tonight and then heads to Hamilton for a match-up with the Continentals on Saturday afternoon.

Last weekend's 1-1 home outing, with a 6-5 victory over UMass-Boston and a 5-1 loss against Babson, pulled the Jumbos within just two points of Amherst in the NESCAC standings, keeping the teams' playoff hopes alive and kicking.

In the victory against UMass, Tufts was led by sophomore Matt McCarthy, who netted two goals and one assist, as well as by fellow sophomore Ken Cleary, who matched McCarthy with two goals of his own. Against Babson, the Jumbos' lone goal came in the first period from freshman Matt Dalton.

"We felt as though we played strong last weekend against UMass and Babson," sophomore defenseman Jack Thompson said. "We could have played a little better against Babson, but we're satisfied with last weekend's performance."

"We just missed out on a couple of breaks against Babson," sophomore defenseman Zak Smotherman added.

The team is looking for last weekend's solid performance to carry them into this weekend's contests, with only five games remaining in the regular season. On Friday evening, the Jumbos will travel to Amherst for a date with the Lord Jeffs and then head to upstate New York for a game with Hamilton on Saturday.

"Both games are important for our playoff push," Smotherman said. "Especially Friday against Amherst."

"The game against Amherst is a must-win," Thompson said. "We'll be in a lot of trouble if we don't beat them. But we're very close to their team in skill, so it should be a good match-up."

The two teams have had 12 common opponents this season. In those games, the Jumbos have compiled a record of 3-8-1, while the Jeffs have gone 4-7-1.

Tufts will attempt to correct last year's heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss to Amherst, a game in which Amherst scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:18 remaining in overtime. The Jumbos will look to forwards Pat Byrne and John Hurd, who each scored a goal in last year's game against Amherst.

"If we beat [Amherst], that victory will give us a big enough confidence booster to get into the playoffs," Thompson said. "We'll be tied with them in the NESCAC standings and ahead of them in head-to-head match-ups."

The Jumbos will try to continue Amherst's current losing skid, as the Jeffs have dropped six of their last seven games, including their last five. However, those losses have come against Williams, Middlebury, New England College and Skidmore, all teams the Jumbos have also suffered losses to. In that same stretch, however, Amherst fell to Salem State 5-4, a team the Jumbos handily defeated 6-3 two weekends ago.

"We need to just stick with our plays and systems," Smotherman said. "There's always room for improvement and if we keep doing what we've been doing, it'll all fall into place."

At Hamilton, the Jumbos will look to continue their good luck against the Continentals, after handily defeating them last year 5-2. The team is hoping that Smotherman and junior Shawn Sullivan can help their own cause, after each netting a goal in last year's contest against Hamilton.

"I don't really think the Hamilton game is a must-win," Thompson said. "We're really trying to focus on Amherst now because we know that the Amherst game means more to us at this point. But Hamilton is a good in-conference opponent, so they're a squad to be reckoned with as well."

Smotherman added, "Our team has one goal in mind: Beat Amherst and snatch that eighth playoff spot away from them. This is our most meaningful road-trip of the year."