Despite starting the weekend off with a 5-2 win over Hamilton on Friday night, its second NESCAC victory of the season, the hockey team turned the score around against Amherst on Saturday, falling 5-2 for its 13th overall loss, and 11th in the conference.
"We got some bad breaks, and need to bury all of our chances," junior goaltender Issa Azat said. "I think we could have won 5-2 just as easily."
Led by junior forward Kyle Schoppel and sophomore forward Joel Covelli's three points apiece, Amherst jumped on the board first, with less than two minutes left in the first, on a goal by Covelli. From there, the Lord Jeffs never looked back, posting a two spot on the board in the second period to take a 3-0 lead.
Senior Brian Bailey and junior Kurt Hertzog each notched a third-period goal for the Jumbos, but the 3-0 deficit heading into the final period proved too much to overcome.
On Friday night, however, Tufts was the team that ultimately finished with a three-goal advantage. Tailing 2-1 after the second intermission, the Jumbos strung together an impressive third period to notch their fifth win of the season.
"We were down 2-1, and in the locker room the captains and leaders stepped up, and everyone dug in," junior Greg O'Connell said. "In the third period, we tried to focus on the little things. A few bounces came our way, and we showed what a team we are."
Freshman Mike Fitoussi recorded the game-tying goal early in the third, his first career collegiate goal. With ten freshmen on the roster this season, the Jumbos have become accustomed to inspired play from their rookie crew.
"The freshmen are great," Azat said. "They are willing to learn and [are] receptive. You really can't go wrong with good leadership from top to bottom."
Junior Ross Gimbel followed Fitoussi's lead, clinching the game less than three minutes later, while freshman Evan Crosby and sophomore Joe Milo provided extra padding.
"Nothing really changed in the third period," Azat said. "We kept playing the same style hockey as before. We've been getting bad breaks, but in the third we stayed concentrated, stayed focused."
Both Azat and classmate James Kalec provided integral defense in the net over the weekend, combining to nab 57 saves in the two games - 26 from Kalec on Saturday, and 31 from Azat on Friday.
"Both of our goalies are among the best in the league," O'Connell said. "The goalies keep us in the games we are in. Issa is great; he works hard in practice, and it shows."
With three weeks and six games remaining in the regular season, the team will need to buckle down if it wants to finish the season on a positive note.
"We are going to play hard, try to win every game, stay out of the box and keep each other up for the next weeks," Azat said.
"We want to stay focused to give the seniors their due," O'Connell added. "They deserve everything we can give them."
Mathematically, the Jumbos still have a chance to reach the NESCAC tournament, but they'll need to beat Wesleyan on Friday and Trinity on Wednesday. At 7-3-3 in the conference, Wesleyan is second in the league behind Amherst, and will certainly pose a major challenge for a Tufts team that has never quite been able to get on track this season. Trinity is eighth in the league, at 4-6-3, and will be clinging to its highly coveted spot in the NESCAC tournament.
"Next weekend is big, because we are playing teams closer to our records," O'Connell said. "We have to bury every chance, because you can bet the opponent will."
