Being on the road is not the ideal situation for any team trying to rebuild its confidence and regain momentum. The Tufts hockey team will have to face off with that challenge this weekend when they go on the road for two games.
The Jumbos have the odds stacked against them, as they are 4-6 on the road this year so far. Two of those road game losses came with a one-goal margin.
Last weekend, the Jumbos once again dipped below .500 on the season, falling to a record of 8-9-1. Tufts was defeated at home by Southern Maine, 5-2, and by Salem State, 3-1. This weekend, the team aims to regain the momentum they found a few weeks ago during a five-game unbeaten streak.
The Jumbos will not have to go far to face their opponent when they meet up with UMass-Boston on Friday night, and on Saturday they will take another short drive to Wellesley to face Babson.
Last year the Jumbos split with these two teams, pulling out a close 6-5 win over UMass-Boston while falling 5-1 against Babson. Both games last season took place at Malden Arena on Tufts home ice.
Junior Matt McCarthy was the key factor in last year's win over UMass-Boston, scoring two goals and notching one assist. McCarthy leads the Jumbos in scoring this year with 13 goals and seven assists.
The Deacons are coming into this year's game having not won in their past seven contests. They have an overall record of 2-14-1 and have yet to win a conference game.
The Jumbos will have to play with a strong offense and be the aggressor against UMass-Boston on Friday night. Freshman Buddy Johnson, the Deacon goalie, was named the ECAC East Rookie of the Week.
Johnson was named the league's top rookie after stopping a season-high 40 shots in 59:36 of action in the Deacons' 2-1 loss at Middlebury College, the nation's No. 5 team as ranked by USCHO.com.
Aggressive net-crashing and a high shot count will be important if the Jumbos are to put the puck past the rookie.
On Saturday night, the Jumbos will face the No. 14 team in the nation when they take on the 11-4-3 Beavers.
"We are going to need to play three very full periods both games and we'll be fine," McCarthy said.
In addition, the Jumbos will be facing a stingy goalie for the second night in a row. Babson junior Craig Weiner has been named the ECAC East Goalie of the Week after stopping 60 of the 62 shots that he faced this past weekend.
Last year the Beavers dominated Tufts as they squelched five Tufts power-play opportunities, including three in the final period. The lone goal for the Jumbos last year was scored by sophomore Matt Dalton in the first period. This was the only time the Jumbos had the lead in the game, with a score of 1-0.
Tufts only has six remaining games to earn a berth in the NESCAC tournament.
"Every game we have left will affect our seed [in the tournament] if we get one and that [seed] is crucial to who we play in the playoffs," McCarthy said. "Connecticut College and Wesleyan are only two games behind us in the standings and Hamilton College is only a few ahead. If we play the way we know we can we'll make the playoffs."
