Saturday marked Senior Day for the hockey team with seven graduating Jumbos taking the ice for the final time in their collegiate careers. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, awaiting them was No. 14 Babson, which handed Tufts its 10th straight defeat by a score of 6-1.
Still, the outcome was a relatively mild setback when compared to the 13-5 drubbing the Jumbos suffered Friday against UMass Boston. All in all, the lost weekend ended Tufts' season at 6-17-1.
Babson (17-5-3) and Tufts were both participating in their regular-season finales, though the Beavers were looking ahead to the postseason. Before the puck dropped, the Jumbos held a ceremony honoring their seven seniors: tri-captains Joe Cappellano, Ross Gimbel and Greg O'Connell; goaltenders James Kalec and Issa Azat; and defensemen Jonathan Kestner and Matt Tosto.
"We're going to miss them," coach Brian Murphy said. "They contributed a lot to the program. They played a lot of games and will be tough to replace."
But the Beavers were determined to spoil the festivities, scoring within the first three minutes of the opening frame. Both teams then remained quiet until 7:55 into the second period when Tufts sophomore Myles Neumann netted his second goal of the year off assists from freshmen Dylan Cooper and Lindsay Walker. Walker finished the season tied with O'Connell for the team lead in assists with 13.
The Jumbos, however, had little time to enjoy the tie as the Beavers responded quickly. Babson sophomore Chris Wood began the scoring assault just 34 seconds after Tufts' lone goal. Wood received the assist from freshman Tyler Woods, who in turn gave the Beavers a two-goal lead later on in the period.
The final minute of the period capped the barrage with an astounding three more goals. Wood and senior Mike Venit tallied two more within 20 seconds of each other before time expired to end the second frame.
"We had a bad period," Cappellano said. "There were a couple of power plays on rough calls which exhausted us. It was a one-goal game at the end of the first, but we lost our composure."
In spite of the lopsided final score, Saturday's contest did provide a redeeming moment for the squad. The line consisting of the majority of seniors on the team skated the last couple minutes of the game, taking in their final seconds for the Jumbos.
"We were out there for last two minutes of the game against a very good team and didn't let up a goal," Cappellano said. "We were exhausted on the ice the entire time. It testifies to the character of the team. It was a good crowd, and they gave us a standing ovation for the final few seconds, which was really nice. It touched all of us."
The Beavers outshot Tufts 47-24, as Azat checked in with 41 saves in his final game. Azat had been playing in place of fellow senior goalie James Kalec, the program's all-time saves leader, who last guarded the net Jan. 26 against Bowdoin and has been out of the lineup with an injury the last eight games.
"James, coming off the NESCAC Player of the Week [on Jan. 21], got hurt in a weird situation which obviously hurt us," Murphy said. "But we didn't play badly through the last 10 games - we just couldn't get a couple wins, which is disappointing. To end the season like that is hard."
The 13-5 loss to UMass Boston Friday marked the biggest margin of defeat for the Jumbos all season. The Beacons were fighting for a shot at an ECAC East Tournament bid, while Tufts had already since been eliminated from playoff contention. Five UMass Boston players recorded four or more points, while freshman Vinnie Jacona scored a hat trick for the Beacons.
"Once we got knocked out of contention, it's tough to find things to play for, to be honest," Cappellano said. "Friday night was a strange game."
Tufts managed to draw blood first when freshman Fredrik Mellgren scored his first collegiate goal on the power play. Jacona responded later in the first period with an equalizer, and the lead ballooned to 4-1 before freshman Zach Diaco also netted his first collegiate goal for Tufts.
Ten cumulative goals were scored by both teams in the second period, ending in a short-handed goal by the Beacons to give them a 10-4 advantage. Junior Joe Milo scored twice, while freshmen Andy Davis and Mike Vitale both notched a couple of assists. Diaco and junior Greg McCarthy each had a goal and an assist.
The goal from UMass Boston freshman Dennis Zak, his fifth point of the game, gave the Beacons 13 in total, the most they have scored this decade.
Despite the two tough losses this weekend and the season-ending 10-game losing streak, the Jumbos did not lose sight of the effort they put into this season and recognized the contributions of the seniors during their tenures at Tufts.
"I think everybody worked hard this year," Murphy said. "We're going miss the seniors. We appreciate their effort, but it just wasn't meant to be."
