The freshman goaltenders for the Tufts hockey team got more than they bargained for this weekend as they faced 105 shots combined. When the onslaught of shots was done, the team was left with one win and one loss.
On Friday night at NESCAC/ECAC foe UMass-Boston, freshman standout James Kalec turned away 54 of 56 shots in a 4-2 Jumbos victory. Senior forward Jason Boudrow also recorded his 150th career point in the win, on his second assist of the game.
On Saturday afternoon in Wellesley, Issa Azat was between the pipes, but his valiant effort (49 saves) proved not to be enough as the Jumbos fell to the Beavers 4-2.
"We played really well in both games, but the bounces weren't going our way as much as we would have liked," senior co-captain John Hurd said.
Even before the season had started, the matchup against the Beavers posed as one of the toughest of the season. Ranked No. 14 nationally in the most recent poll, Babson left the game with a 13-4-3 record, but the latest notch in its belt didn't come without peril.
In the first period Saturday, Tufts was left to do nothing but stand still and watch as Babson unloaded an avalanche of shots on Azat, 23 in all. What was more amazing was that Babson had three penalties in the period to the Jumbos' one, so power play chances were not the reason for the avalanche of shots. Thanks to Azat's standup effort, the Jumbos were down just 2-0 to Babson in a game that did not show much promise for the away team.
But once there was a fresh sheet of ice for the Jumbos in the second period, the team showed the grit and resilience it has bounced back with all season.
Nearing the end of a period that was mostly back and forth, Tufts netted two goals only 14 seconds apart. Sophomore Brian Bailey notched his fourth goal of the year at 18:06 of the period, with assists from freshman forward Greg O'Connell and freshman defenseman Joe Cappellano.
This was swiftly followed up by sophomore John Murphy's fifth goal of the season, on assists from senior defenseman Sean Hayes and junior co-captain Ken Cleary.
After being outshot just 12-8 in the period and heading into the locker room with a 2-2 tie after an ominous first period, Tufts had momentum on its side. The third was spent mostly in Tufts' end, though, as Babson picked up a bit of its swagger and continued to get scoring chances. After a Tufts cross-checking penalty, Babson finally capitalized, scoring at 15:08 of the third on the power play. This proved to be the game winner, and an empty netter in the final minute sealed the deal for the Beavers.
After the loss, Tufts' third in four games, the Jumbos moved back below .500 with a record of 9-10-1.
"We had to work real hard to fight back against Babson. We just came up a little short," Hurd said.
Besides the Jumbos' spirited effort on Saturday, there was a more tangible measure of their success on Friday night, in a 4-2 win at UMass-Boston. By all accounts, this was a game Tufts was supposed to win, as the Beacons have not won a game in NESCAC/ECAC play all season (0-13-1). Despite displaying an impressive effort for a team with only two wins overall (2-15-1), UMass-Boston encountered a problem that has plagued many of Tufts' opponents this year, and the problem's name was Kalec. His 54 saves were integral in Tufts getting a much-needed two points.
As they would on Saturday, the Jumbos came out flat again, surrendering 17 shots to their own six. UMass-Boston got on the board first, netting an early tally at 2:36 of the first. But junior forward Matt McCarthy would add to his team leading goal count with his 14th of the year at 6:45 of the first. Assisting were team leader Jason Boudrow and Cappellano.
In the second, after a Beacon slashing penalty early in the period, Hurd scored his ninth of the season, assisted by Boudrow and McCarthy. Boudrow's second assist of the game was his 18th of the season and the 150th point of his career. Sitting at fifth on Tufts' career points list, Boudrow achieved the milestone in just 72 games, giving him an average of 2.1 points per game. Freshman forward Kurt Hertzog would add his fourth of the season at 16:02 to give the Jumbos a lead they would not relinquish.
Amazingly in a period in which the Jumbos were outshot 22-7, Kalec gave up just one goal amidst the flurry of shots, at 17:50 of the period. As he has had to do time and time again this year, he did everything short of standing on his head to keep the Jumbos in the game.
In the third, Kalec made 17 saves and O'Connell scored his ninth goal of the season to preserve the 4-2 victory.
Hurd is optimistic about the team's prospects from here on out.
"All of our lines are coming into their own right now," he said. "We just have to keep fore-checking and play better team defense."
The Jumbos host Amherst and Hamilton next weekend.
