For the first time in three years, the Jumbos came up just short of a postseason berth, as the team failed to pull off two crucial victories this past weekend.
The team needed to win both its weekend games to secure a playoff bid, but a frustrating loss to Babson on Friday night paired with a Wesleyan win over Castleton State on Saturday took Tufts out of playoff contention even before the start of its final game on Saturday against UMass-Boston.
In its crucial Friday game, Tufts let a 2-1 lead slip away at the hands of Babson freshman JT Balben. Balben led the Beaver's comeback victory, scoring two goals and adding an assist in the third period, for a game-high three points.
Freshman Greg McCarthy tallied the first goal for Tufts, intercepting a misplayed clearing pass and scoring on an empty net early in the game. After Babson scored off a shot from junior Chuck Gable in the second period, senior co-captain Pat Walsh answered for Tufts with a goal on an assist from classmate Quinn Kelley.
The Jumbos had maintained momentum throughout much of the game and looked to have enough to hold on to their 2-1 lead heading into the third and final period.
However, the Beavers turned a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead in just 25 seconds, as Balben scored the tying goal early in the third and then assisted senior Greg Cassista on the next Babson possession to put the Beavers up 3-2. Babson sealed the win with an empty-netter late in the final period.
Babson was able to gain the upper hand late in the game due to multiple Tufts penalties.
"We just couldn't kill off the penalties," coach Brian Murphy said. "We had three penalties that wore us down a little."
Sophomore Issa Azat was selected from the Jumbos' trio of goalies to start the game. He was dominant in goal for the first two periods, stopping 28 of 29 shots, but Babson's back-to-back goals turned the tide quickly. Babson freshman goalie Skylar Nipps finished the day with 21 saves.
With its playoffs hopes dashed, the Jumbos took the ice on Saturday against a dismal 0-21-2 UMass-Boston team and finished its season with a disappointing 2-2 tie in overtime. Although the game would have had no impact on the playoffs, the team hoped to pull out a victory for its senior members.
"We were really trying to win [against UMass-Boston] for the seniors," junior Brian Bailey said. "We wanted to send them out on a good note and get them a win. We dominated for much of the game and could have won it."
The two teams traded goals during the first two periods and a scoreless third period sent the game into overtime. Tufts had scoring opportunities throughout the game, out-shooting the Beacons 50-27, but strong goaltending from UMass-Boston freshman goalie Matt Lopes kept the Jumbos from taking the game.
Tufts came out strong in the first period, going up early on a power-play goal from freshman Joe Milo. The Beacons answered shortly after with a short-handed strike from freshman Robert Carbone at the end of the first period.
The Beacons came out firing in the second period, taking a 2-1 lead on a goal from freshman Mike Muolo. The Jumbos tied up the game just minutes later, when senior Ken Cleary assisted sophomore Ross Gimbel's goal.
Both teams struggled offensively in the third period, but Tufts seemed to have the advantage in overtime, sending seven shots at the UMass-Boston goal. Lopes' dominant play in net, however, squashed any hopes for a Jumbos victory. Tufts senior goaltender Matt Ninnemann finished the day and his career with 25 saves.
After a hot streak in late December and early January which featured seven wins in nine games, Tufts looked to be a lock for the postseason. But a stretch of tough road games and injuries, including the loss of senior co-assistant captain and NESCAC Player of the Week Matt McCarthy in the final two games, reversed the Jumbos' winning streak and brought on the do-or-die weekend situation. Tufts managed only one win in its final nine games.
"Its unfortunate we didn't make the playoffs, but I'm not disappointed," Murphy said. "It wasn't a lack of effort. With a lot of guys with season-ending injuries, we were short-handed most of the season. Injuries and not being physically prepared were a major factor and something that we're not in control of. But we also didn't play great all the time."
Although inconsistent play hurt the Jumbos, injuries played a role throughout the final month of play, depleting a roster that was already five players under the NCAA limit for much of the season. The team finished under .500 in overall and league play, at 9-12-3 and 6-11-2, respectively.
"If I could use one word to describe our season it would be 'rollercoaster'; that's what it felt like," Bailey said. "[The season] went up and down. A lot of calls and bounces could've gone the other way. Some of it was luck and some of it was in our hands."
