With its sights set on a sixth consecutive game without a loss, the ice hockey team saw the opportunity slip away to Johnson & Wales in a surprising 2-1 upset loss on Tuesday night.
A strong performance from goalie Marcus Strang, who posted 46 saves on the night, kept the Jumbos out of the net for much of the game. With the loss, Tufts dropped to 8-6-2 on the season while Johnson and Wales improved to 6-10-1.
After a dominant month in which the team went 7-1-1 since early December and a pair of back-to-back weekend road wins against NESCAC rivals, Tuesday's game looked to be a lock. Although the Jumbos had a significant advantage in shots taken (47-29), they were simply outplayed by the Wildcats when it counted.
Tufts played uncharacteristically poorly on special teams, failing to convert a single one of its seven power-play attempts just a week after nearly tying the national record of six in its win over Suffolk. Sophomore goaltender Issa Azat posted 27 saves in the game, but without goal support, couldn't notch the win.
The team, which traveled to Bowdoin and Colby over the previous weekend, seemed to show some sluggishness on the ice.
"[Strang] played well and we just got out-worked out there," coach Brian Murphy said. "We were not as prepared as we'd like to be. I think it was partly because of the long weekend road trip. We've played a lot of games on the road recently and it looked like there was a little bit of carryover on the players."
Johnson & Wales came out strong early in the first period. Sophomore Matt McGilvary scored in the first two minutes of the game on a power-play, and on the other end Strang tallied 13 saves to shut the Jumbos out in the first period. The Jumbos answered late in the second period when sophomore forward Greg O'Connell tied the game up with his eighth goal of the season. Strang remained nearly impenetrable, however, posting 20 more saves in the second period alone.
With the game tied up, Wildcats sophomore Ryan Lord netted the game-winning strike late in the third period.
The Jumbos will need to rebound quickly from Tuesday's loss, as they again travel in
back-to-back games this weekend to Hamilton and Amherst. Their first weekend game will be against a 6-5-0 Hamilton team that currently sits fifth in NESCAC. The second game will likely be the tougher of the two, with a matchup against 7-3-1 Amherst. The Lord Jeffs' consistently solid play throughout the season has earned them the second-place slot in the conference.
Tufts, currently seventh in the league, will have the opportunity to move up in the standings with wins.
"Both teams are ahead of us in the standings and they are both terrific teams," Murphy said. "We're going to try and focus on each game separately, but we know how important they are. [Amherst and Hamilton] have played historically well against us in the past."
The team is preparing for each game with equal weight and will look to regain some focus coming off Tuesday's disappointing loss.
"We can't forget that we need to work hard and not expect to win in this league," Murphy said. "Hopefully, we'll be better-rested heading into this weekend. Hamilton always plays us tough, especially when they play at home. They're a very physical team and we have to be prepared to match that on the ice."
The Jumbos will take the ice against Hamilton tonight at 7 p.m. before traveling to play Amherst on Saturday afternoon.
