After two straight losses in a pivotal road trip this weekend, the ice hockey team is perilously close to missing out on postseason play.
Falling 4-2 to Salem State on Friday and 6-2 to Southern Maine on Saturday, the Jumbos have now lost six of their last seven, and January's five-game unbeaten streak seems part of a distant past for the struggling Jumbos, who now sit below .500 in both league and overall play.
Players attributed the losses to a lack of execution and an inability to score when it counted.
"We never gave a full effort, and you can't expect to win when you don't play for a full 60 minutes," junior forward Brian Bailey said. "We just didn't execute offensively and defensively. We never got it together and the back of the net escaped us in both games."
Southern Maine came out strong early in the game, taking a 2-0 lead in the first period. Freshman Kyle Smith tallied a goal and assisted on a power-play goal from classmate Steve Kelley late in the first period.
The Jumbos cut into the Huskies' lead with a power-play goal from freshman Greg McCarthy in the second period. However, USM junior Chris Sparkes netted the first of his two goals with under two minutes to play in the period to give the Huskies some breathing room and a 3-1 lead.
The third period was no different for Tufts, as offensive firepower continued to elude the Jumbos. Sparkes picked up right where he left off, scoring his second goal five minutes into the final period to expand the Huskies' lead to three.
McCarthy added another power-play goal to bring Tufts within two, but the Huskies solidified their win in the final minutes of play with a goal from junior Marc Santuccio (assists by Smith and senior Ryan Wright).
Although senior goaltender Matt Ninnemann finished the day with 40 stops in net, it was not enough to overcome a powerful Husky offense that dominated the Jumbos in shots, 46-29. USM Junior goalie David Beckles finished the day with 27 saves.
With the win, the Huskies gained a fourth place spot in the ECAC East standings, heading into the final weekend of the regular season with a 10-11-2 overall record (8-7-2 league).
In the first game of the weekend, Tufts outplayed Salem State but was again hampered by a deficient offensive arsenal. Salem State sophomore goaltender Michael Ronan was almost impenetrable, posting 40 saves on the game for the Vikings. Tufts out-shot Salem State, 42-36, and maintained offensive momentum throughout the game; but Ronan's 23 saves in the third period sealed a Viking victory.
"I thought we played good against Salem State," senior co-assistant captain Matt McCarthy said. "We ran into some hot goaltending and couldn't put the puck away when we had our chances and when we needed to."
Tufts started strong, out-shooting the Vikings 10-5 in the first period and taking a 1-0 lead on a goal from Matt McCarthy 8:12 into the game.
The Jumbos' lead was short-lived however, as the Vikings exploded offensively in the second period, hammering out 20 shots and scoring three goals in the first five minutes of the period. Seniors Eduards Tomas and Charlie Levin and junior Andrew O'Neill each tallied a goal to give the Vikings a 3-1 lead. A goal from Greg McCarthy cut into the lead heading into the final period.
But complete dominance in net from Ronan in the third period, coupled with an insurance goal from senior Josh Robinson, stifled a Tufts comeback.
Tufts sophomore goaltender Issa Azat, who replaced classmate James Kalec in net in the second period, finished the day with 24 saves. Sophomore Greg O'Connell recorded two assists in the Jumbos' loss.
Tufts still has a chance to take the eighth playoff spot but will have to either win the rest of its regular season games or hope for a Wesleyan loss this weekend.
"If we had won [this past weekend] we would've placed seventh, but now we have to win out just to place eighth," the elder McCarthy said. "We're not happy about it and [this weekend] was definitely frustrating for us."
This weekend will be the most important of the season for the Jumbos, as they face off against Babson and UMass Boston.
"We're in control of our own destiny this weekend," Bailey said. "We can't dwell on the losses, its do-or-die at this point."
