Last year, the hockey team fell 7-0 to Conn. College on Dec. 9, lowering its record to 2-6 on the season. It was a turning point in a disappointing season - after the defeat, Tufts fell in the next four contests en route to a last-place NESCAC finish.
This year's team was determined not to let history repeat itself.
On Saturday afternoon, Tufts took down the Camels by a score of 5-3 to finish the fall semester with a respectable 3-3-1 start.
"This was just a really big win and a great comeback," senior tri-captain Ross Gimbel said. "It felt real nice. They played us really well last year and beat us by a lot, but we got them this time."
"A win is always huge for us, especially going into the break," senior tri-captain Greg O'Connell added. "We're going in satisfied. Getting a win at home against a team that handled us pretty well - we're all real happy. It was a good performance."
The first period featured clean skating and no penalties. Both defenses played well in the early-going, but the Jumbos broke through at 15:55 in the first period. Gimbel got the puck off a giveaway in the Camels' zone and passed to senior Kurt Hertzog. Hertzog found O'Connell, who buried his first goal of the season. The Jumbos outshot the Camels 9-6 in the period.
"The first period was pretty tame," O'Connell said. "We got a goal and held a 1-0 lead. There were no penalties, and it was even. But in the second, it picked up."
The middle stanza seemed like an entirely different game. Just over halfway through, the Camels scored an equalizer, as sophomore Ryan Howarth poked the puck past senior goalie James Kalec in a scramble in front of the net. A minute and a half later, the Jumbos served their second penalty of the game. Conn. College capitalized, as a failed Tufts clear resulted in a Camel power play goal at the 15:07 mark in the second.
But the special-teams play did not stop there. Less than a minute later, the Jumbos earned a man advantage. With the power play ending, sophomore Doug Wilson grabbed the puck, skated up from the point, and wristed it top shelf to even the game at two goals apiece.
The action continued with Tufts committing its second game-disqualifying penalty, a five-minute major. With just over a minute left in the period, Conn. sophomore Ryan Joyce fired low from the point but was stopped by Kalec. The rebound found the stick of junior Brian Liamero, who cleaned it up for the Camels' third goal in the last eight minutes of the second period. They would not find the net again.
"In the second period, they were playing really hard," Gimbel said. "The puck was going their way. We took some penalties, and we were falling apart. We were showing no composure, which has happened in the past. Heading into the third, we were down 3-2, and we just thought, 'This is it. There's just one more period left, and we have to leave it out there, play smart and kill the rest of the five minutes.'"
The Jumbos were still serving a penalty to start the third period, and with the remaining seconds of the penalty ticking down, Conn. centered a pass that looked like a goal. Looking at an open net, the Camels shot, but sophomore Myles Neumann reached his stick in front of the goal to make the stop. Freshman Andy Davis found the puck and found freshman Lindsay Walker, who looked up ice and saw Gimbel rushing out of the box as the penalty ended. The breakout pass from Tufts' zone went almost to the blue line, sparking a Gimbel breakaway goal to tie up the game.
"That was definitely the turning point of the game," Gimbel said. "We just gained that momentum. Killing their major and the next penalties helped. The goal lifted the spirits of the whole team."
The Jumbos were soon on a five-on-three at 10:13 into the third period. With eleven seconds left of the man advantage, there was a scoreboard malfunction, leading to a pause in play and a face-off in Conn. College's zone. Tufts won the face-off, and just as the Camels returned to full strength, Davis fired a slapshot low for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Davis was assisted by fellow freshmen Walker and Dylan Cooper.
The Jumbos were again up five-on-three when they scored an insurance goal at 13:19. Cooper scored the first goal of his career, with freshman Justin Mitchell earning an assist and Walker picking up his third of the game.
"We had good productions from my line and the line of Lindsay, Dylan and Cory," O'Connell said. "Everyone stepped up and was making plays. It was really a team effort."
Tufts outshot Conn. College 41-37, and for the third straight game, Kalec let up only three goals. He made 34 saves.
"James in net, he's the backbone of our team," O'Connell said.
The team will head into winter break on a high note, taking a tour of France and Switzerland before its first game of the second semester on Jan. 4.
