On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the hockey team traveled to Hookset, NH, to take on Southern New Hampshire University in non-league action. Fortune was not on the Jumbos' side, however, as they fell 7-6 to the Penmen despite a hat trick from junior forward Matt McCarthy. The loss keeps Tufts winless at 0-3-0, while keeping Southern New Hampshire unbeaten at 4-0-0.
Against a Penmen squad that Tufts beat 4-2 last season, the Jumbos weren't nearly as sound defensively as they were in the last meeting. SNHU came out gunning with three quick goals on seven shots against Tufts' freshman goaltender Issa Azat. Senior Jason Olitch, who would prove to be a thorn in Tufts' side all night, netted two of those first three goals en route to his second consecutive hat trick. Sophomore defenseman Peter Corbett had the only Tufts score in the period, on a power play.
"We didn't come out ready to play," coach Brian Murphy said. "The first twenty minutes we just weren't there mentally. They got a few goals early and we can't let that happen."
The final two periods, especially the second, were more in Tufts' favor. The Jumbos took advantage of Penmen penalties and had two power play goals; one by another sophomore defenseman, Jack Thompson, and one by junior forward Pat Walsh. McCarthy would add two more in the final 1:25 of that period to give Tufts a 5-3 lead going into the second intermission.
But in a contest in which Tufts would hold a 17-shot advantage (44-27) and have six fewer penalties than its opponent, it was the opportunistic nature of the Penmen, and especially Olitch, that kept Southern New Hampshire in the game. Just one minute into the third, Olitch began the scoring that would give SNHU momentum to come back from the deficit.
After McCarthy's third goal put Tufts up 6-5, the Jumbos had a defensive collapse, allowing a shorthanded goal to tie the game.
"We need to play better defense," Murphy said. "We have to take the right angles between the offensive player and the puck, tie up sticks in front of our net - anything to keep the puck out of our net."
Murphy knows that the more experienced offense has certainly taken care of its end of business.
"We have scored 11 goals in the last two games and lost them both. So we know we can score goals, we just have to prevent them."
It has been a little bit of a trial by fire for freshmen goalies Azat and James Kalec. Kalec relieved Azac in the first period and made 16 saves on 20 shots. He has already been pelted with 80 shots in this young season, not to mention his young career.
Tonight, the Jumbos travel south to take on UMass-Dartmouth. The Jumbos have played the Corsairs tough the past two seasons, losing 9-8 last year and tying 4-4 in 2002. But the Corsairs are another unbeaten hockey team (4-0-0), so it will be yet another tough test for a Tufts squad that is still trying to hit its stride and capture its first victory.
"To win hockey games, you have to play all sixty minutes," Murphy said. "And we just haven't done that yet."
