In the nation's most competitive conference for Div. III men's ice hockey, the 2006-07 Tufts squad had a difficult time keeping up.
Last year, the Jumbos struggled with a weak defensive backline, routinely being bombarded by the NESCAC's elite offenses. Tufts finished with a disappointing 6-18 record and found itself last in the NESCAC.
But the Jumbos showed some upside, with a 7-5 win over conference runner-up Bowdoin, and some sharp play from its rising seniors. They return their leading scorer and set-up man from last year's squad, and a successful season, even in the stacked NESCAC ice hockey scene, seems within their reach.
"We want to be in a position to compete for a NESCAC championship," coach Brian Murphy said. "It's going to be a long season, and we feel we've improved. We've been skating better and have looked pretty sharp in practice."
The Jumbos will be headed by senior tri-captains Greg O'Connell, Ross Gimbel and Joe Cappellano. Gimbel led the team in points last year with 25, including 12 goals, while O'Connell paced the team with 14 assists. O'Connell will look to break the 100-point mark for his career this year, as he's tallied 78 to date.
Cappellano provides a veteran presence as the anchor for the Jumbo defense. Tufts will need to field a stronger backline after finishing at the bottom of the NESCAC last season in scoring defense by allowing an astounding 119 goals, an average of 4.96 a game. The Jumbos are hoping that this year's lineup will help them get that average down and stay competitive.
"We do have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, but eight seniors, too," Cappellano said. "We'll strike a good balance."
"[The seniors] understand what it takes. We're not rebuilding - we're looking to compete," Murphy added.
Tufts will also be counting on a pair of juniors to help shoulder the scoring load along with Gimbel and O'Connell. Greg McCarthy tied for the team lead with 14 assists last season, and Joe Milo was second on the team in goals with 10. The duo will be needed to supplement an offense that was seventh in the league last season.
The Jumbos will also face a very difficult schedule, as the season's 24 games are spanned over four months - a marathon compared to most college sports.
"It's going to be a tougher schedule," Cappellano said. "But there will be less games during the week, so we'll concentrate more on the weekends. We have a couple of big tournaments, in Plattsburg and Rutland, which will be good tests. And we're looking at a trip to France over Christmas break, which should help us build our team chemistry."
"A key is being more consistent through the middle of the schedule, which was a problem last year," Murphy said.
The Jumbos should be strong in the net, returning two veteran goalkeepers in seniors James Kalec and Issa Azat, who recorded .877 and .872 save percentages respectively. Kalec holds the all-time Tufts record for saves in a single game with 60.
"Goaltending is key," Murphy said. "Any coach will tell you goaltending is important. But we're pretty confident about it."
The Jumbos will face stiff competition right away at home, as the opening weekend pits them against two league rivals. After squaring off with Williams on Friday, Tufts will host Middlebury, winner of the three of the last four national championships and last year's runner-up, at Malden Forum for the Jumbos' second game of the season. The Jumbos will have to be solid from the get-go, and they are not taking these challenges lightly.
"Middlebury is ranked No. 1 in the nation, and Williams is always tough," Cappellano said. "All of the NESCAC games will be huge. It's important to get off to a good start this season. We didn't have the best start last year, but early wins are big. They help build confidence for the young guys."
"We jump right into it," Murphy said. "There are a lot of very good NESCAC schools, and the schedule is not in our favor. We're looking forward to a good crowd and a good learning experience."
