The ice hockey team grabbed a crucial 5-2 victory over NESCAC rival Trinity, keeping its playoff hopes afloat and stopping a four-game slide, the latest streak in the Jumbos' roller-coaster season.
The win improved the team to 9-9-2 on the season and dropped the Bantams to 8-9-3.
"We [are] in a position where every game is now a playoff game and if we don't win, we won't be in the playoffs," junior forward Brian Bailey said. "We need to win to stay alive."
That sense of urgency hung over the team as it prepared for Saturday's game, but the Jumbos were sluggish out of the gate, quickly falling behind 2-0.
Just 4:30 into the first period, junior forward John Halverson put Trinity on the board, assisted by freshman defenseman Chris Diozzi and senior tri-captain Cameron Finch, who scored his 100th career point on the play.
It looked as if Finch would see his personal milestone bolstered by a team win, as freshman Tom Price extended the Trinity lead to two halfway through the second period.
But the second goal seemed to wake up the Tufts offense, and 16:47 into the second period, freshman forward Greg McCarthy scored a power-play goal, igniting a Jumbo comeback.
"After the first period, we made a couple of adjustments on our zone to help out the cycle down low, which in turn helped us break the puck out and create more scoring chances for ourselves," sophomore goalie Issa Azat said.
The adjustments shifted the momentum and the Jumbos found themselves back in the game.
Just one minute after the first goal, freshman forward Andrew Delorey tied the game at 2-2, assisted by freshman Jared Melillo and Bailey.
"We just reminded ourselves of what was at stake again," Bailey said. "We went over the things we needed to do, especially on special teams. As soon as we executed the game plan, things bounced our way more."
Tufts went into the third period with authority, continuing its offensive attack on a tired Trinity squad.
"When you play a team on Saturday and they're on the road, you acknowledge that they had to travel and by the second period, they start to get tired" coach Brian Murphy said. "We took advantage of that."
Sophomore forward Greg O'Connell scored 47 seconds into the third period, with assists coming from freshman forward Joe Milo and senior forward Matt McCarthy, who scored the Jumbos' fourth goal 9:48 into the third period.
Without a chance to catch their breath, the Bantams found themselves in a 5-2 hole when sophomore Ross Gimbel followed McCarthy just nine seconds later to give the Jumbos the final three-goal lead.
Matt McCarthy and O'Connell finished with a goal and assist apiece, and Milo finished with two assists.
Azat finished the game with an impressive 36 saves, improving his record to 2-1-0.
"Issa played great last night" Bailey said on Sunday. "It shows us how deep we are in the goalie position. He kept us in the game; he was the player of the game for us last night."
Azat said that he refused to let the early 2-0 deficit affect him.
"As far as being down 2-0, you really can never look at the score" Azat said. "If you get scored on 10 times, you can't think about those goals - you have to worry about the 11th."
Azat was one of several young players who stepped up for the Jumbos, as many key plays were made by freshmen and sophomores.
"[Last year's] freshmen aren't freshmen anymore" Murphy said. "They all started last season; they know what they have to do now to be successful. We have talented kids in that class and when they play the way they are coached, they are very, very good."
The players appreciated a fan bus sponsored by the athletic department to bring fans to the team's hockey rink, which is in Malden.
"I know it's a hike, but we really love seeing Tufts faces in the stands," Azat said. "It's hard knowing that when you play at home, there are more fans for the other team than there are for us. But when we see Tufts faces there, it really helps us out on the ice."
The key win over Trinity made up for a bitter 4-2 loss to Wesleyan on Friday, ending the Cardinals' five game winless streak.
Wesleyan got on the board on an error by Tufts sophomore goalie James Kalec, who accidentally deflected a Wesleyan shot into the net five minutes into the game. Sophomore Brian Erensen scored14:04 into the game, and the Jumbos found themselves down 2-0.
The elder McCarthy pulled Tufts to within one, but two Wesleyan goals in the third period, netted just four minutes apart, put the game out of reach.
