With two games left in what can only be described as an emotionally draining season, the Tufts men's ice hockey team can at least take solace in the fact that it controls its own destiny.
This weekend's games against Babson and UMass-Boston are must-wins for the Jumbos to make the playoffs, and with a week of good practice behind it, the team is ready to lace up.
"I'm very confident in our team's abilities," junior forward Brian Bailey said. "If you look at some of the wins we have it shows we can beat anyone at any time...Everyone understands how important it is."
The last meeting between Tufts and Babson ended with a 4-2 Babson win. This year, the 14-2 Beavers will be riding their stunning 3-1 upset of second-ranked and defending national champion Middlebury on Saturday.
Coming off a 2-1 week, the Beavers received two of Tuesday's ECAC East weekly awards. Freshman goalie Skylar Nipps' 31 saves in his team's win over the Panthers and 2.41 GAA earned him Goalie of the Week honors. Joining Nipps was senior forward Jamas LaFreniere, who earned Player of the Week for his two goals and three assists in the three games.
The Jumbos will be focusing largely on their defense, which has been a weak spot, especially late in the game.
"Defensively, as a team we could have played better at times," Bailey said. "If our team had any short-falling, it would be our team defense. We didn't all pick up our responsibilities. However, we got better as the season went on and although it seems like we let up a lot of goals, it's not to slight our defensive effort. The effort was always there."
A specific flaw in the team's defense was the execution in the defensive and neutral zones.
"I think our defensive zone work and our neutral zone work could benefit," sophomore forward Greg O'Connell said. "The majority of the game happens in the neutral zone in between the blue lines. That's where we have all of the scoring opportunities."
Several times this season, the Jumbos have seen late-game leads slip through their fingers. The devastating overtime loss against New England College came after a third-period Tufts lead dissipated in seconds.
To avoid coughing up another late lead on Friday, Tufts will have to watch out for Babson sophomore forward John Geverd, who has posted four game-winning goals for the Beavers this season.
The team is fortunate, however, that behind its defense are three goalies capable of shutting down an offense. Senior Matt Ninneman and sophomores Issa Azat and James Kalec have all played tremendously between the posts this season.
"Obviously, all three of our goaltenders are capable of playing well and it doesn't matter who's in net, we know we're going to get a good performance," Bailey said. "It's sad to see [Ninneman graduate] but we're happy to know that we have two sophomores who already can step up when we need them."
The Jumbos' net-minders will not face as big a challenge on Saturday, as the team takes on 0-21-2 UMass-Boston.
Even with the struggling
Beacons on the schedule, the Jumbos know better than to look past Saturday's game. Injuries, some late-season fatigue, and the back-to-back weekend games have the Jumbos below full-strength.
"Injuries have been huge for us," O'Connell said. "We don't have a lot of numbers like a lot of other teams and especially when we have Friday-then-Saturday games and someone goes down, it hurts. Injuries have hindered a lot of stuff we wanted to do this season."
The latest injury is the most painful of all. With only two regular-season games left in his collegiate career, senior assistant co-captain Matt McCarthy went down with a leg injury that will sideline him for this weekend's games. McCarthy leads the NESCAC in both goals (18) and assists (35) and has come up big time and time again for the Jumbos this season.
"I think he's right up there as one of the best players in Div. III," senior defenseman Quinn Kelley said. "He can change the game in an instant. If there's one guy who you can look to do it all for you, he's the guy. Seeing him get hurt and seeing the leg get twisted and hearing him scream was painful. It's very difficult to take but we need to focus and not think about that."
No player was more disappointed than McCarthy himself.
"I was hoping to get 50 goals and 100 points, and I was two goals short and seven points short," McCarthy said. "I'll be in the locker room and I'll be watching the game, but it will be frustrating to just sit there and watch."
The loss of McCarthy is yet another hit to a team that's had a rough month. After a red-hot streak in late December into mid-January, the Jumbos have lost six of their last seven, putting them at 9-11-2, a record that increases the urgency surrounding this weekend's games.
