Just a month ago the hockey team held fifth place in the NESCAC with 10 games to play. But then, the team's season went into a tailspin, as that 4-4-1 conference record degenerated into 4-14-1 mark as the Jumbos dropped their final 10 decisions of the season.
The year started auspiciously with a 3-2 win over Williams off a goal in the final minute by senior Kurt Hertzog. The win was the first for Tufts in an opening weekend since the 2002-2003 season. Then, in the last game before winter recess, the Jumbos earned a seemingly momentous 5-3 win over Conn. College.
"The first game against Williams was huge," senior tri-captain Joe Cappellano said. "It was the first time we ever beat them since I've been here.
"The Conn. College game was also really big," he continued. "They're our traveling partner, and they beat us 7-0 last year, which was rough. We got embarrassed, and we posted the report from the Daily of the game before playing and came back and won."
The Jumbos picked up three of their five home games in January, but only managed one road win all season. In a three-game stretch, senior goaltender James Kalec allowed just four goals - the best defensive showing by any Tufts team in at least 10 years.
For his performance, Kalec took NESCAC Co-Player of the Week honors on Jan. 21, the first time a Tufts player earned the honor.
He holds the program's single-game save mark with 60, and in a game against nationally ranked No. 12 Bowdoin, he surrendered only three goals as he set the program's all-time saves mark. His 2,166 stops broke the record previously held by his predecessor Ben Crapser (E '05).
"He's had more stops than any other goaltender at Tufts," coach Brian Muprhy said. "Sure, that's terrific. But then you see that he also has the best save percentage. He's stopped a lot of rubber here."
But heading into the final month of the regular season, Kalec suffered an injury in practice, and the Jumbos went on to lose all eight games in February without him. The record-setting day against Bowdoin proved to be his last on the ice as a Jumbo.
"He's been the backbone of the team since freshman year," Cappellano said. "To see him go down was really frustrating. We tried to make up for it, but it didn't work out."
In the first game without Kalec, the Jumbos faced a top-tier team in Amherst. Senior goalie Issa Azat stepped up to the challenge, but the Lord Jeffs pulled from behind in the third period with a couple of power play goals to win 3-2 on Feb. 1.
"Amherst was a difficult loss on the road," Murphy said. "We played well, but a few calls that were ticky-tack turned the momentum of game."
When all was said and done following a pair of weekend losses to Babson and UMass Boston, Tufts found itself with six total wins and a seat at the bottom of the conference for the second straight year.
"Our record was the same, but we had more talent this year," Cappellano said. "We expected to be better. We came out strong in the first half and were in a good situation for the playoffs, but we hit a losing streak and couldn't bounce back. We expected more."
Senior tri-captains Greg O'Connell and Ross Gimbel led the team in points with 19 apiece, and they will graduate having accumulated 97 and 78 career points, respectively.
Tufts' youth also performed well, as five underclassmen notched double-digit point totals.
The Jumbos will seek to improve mainly on the defensive end next year, as their goals-allowed mark and penalty kill conversion rate landed them at the bottom of the conference ranks.
"We'll probably have six to eight recruits, similar to this year's freshman class," Murphy said. "We're not going to change our approach. We'll bring in two goaltenders we already picked out."
