For a young ice hockey team coming off a less-than-stellar 2007-08 season, the future is now.
During last season's 6-17-1 effort, the Jumbos' bench was marked by six seniors and five juniors, and the top two point-getters on the squad were also seniors. Yet with just four seniors and eight juniors on the roster this year, the Jumbos' dynamic is markedly different, and it has certainly improved Tufts' production for the better. While the vital leadership of the team's upperclassmen has not been overlooked, the emphasis this year has clearly shifted to the team's younger players.
"The young guys have bought into the team philosophy," junior co-captain Myles Neumann said. "Last year it was tough to win games when the team was not all on the same page."
And win they have, as the 7-7-1 Jumbos have already surpassed their win total from last season. Following a slow start to their current campaign, the Jumbos went on a five-game winning streak before falling into a four-game skid that was finally snapped with a tie and a win against Colby and Bowdoin this past weekend.
"We finally pulled out a win after being down 3-2 [against Bowdoin]," Neumann said. "That was huge for us. Most games we'd won this year we'd been up the whole game."
At the head of the Jumbos' rally in that crucial 5-3 come-from-behind win over Bowdoin on Saturday was sophomore Tom Derosa, who buried two crucial third-period goals, including the game-winner with under seven minutes to play. Through 15 games, Derosa is the team's leading offensive weapon with 10 goals and 18 points. Last year's offensive leaders, then-senior tri-captains Ross Gimbel (LA '08) and Greg O'Connell (LA '08) finished the season with 19 points, yet Derosa is only one shy of that mark with nine games still left on the schedule.
"We had been mixing up the lines a lot, but once we started playing together, it clicked pretty instantly," Derosa said of his linemates, freshman Nick Resor and sophomore Dylan Cooper.
It just so happens that Resor and Cooper are tied for the team lead in assists with nine and are also second and third, respectively, on the team in both goals and points. This season, Resor has tallied seven goals and 16 points, while Cooper has tacked on four and 13.
"We play really well together," Resor said. "We always know where the other one is on the ice."
The youthful trend extends far beyond the offensive end, as freshman goalie Scott Barchard has been nothing short of outstanding between the pipes this season. Registering six of the Jumbos' seven wins, the young netminder has posted a .912 save percentage and a 3.07 goals-against average. And with 414 saves already, Barchard is on pace to slip into the third slot on the Jumbos' all-time single-season saves list if he plays all nine of Tufts' remaining regular-season games.
In the world of college hockey, it is common for players to defer a year or two by playing in junior leagues before going on to play at the university level, which results in a slightly older group of underclassmen than is found in other sports and often more mature players that can readily shoulder a hefty burden. The Tufts squad is no exception. With a number of the Jumbos' underclassmen having played in junior leagues, the team has benefited as a whole, paying dividends for the Jumbos this year.
"We have an older group in the freshman and sophomore classes," senior Jared Melillo said. "That level of maturity allows them to contribute quickly."
While the spotlight, in terms of raw statistics, is shining brightly on the underclassmen, the juniors and seniors contribute in their own ways.
"[The younger players] have a lot of goals, but a lot of the older kids are good penalty killers," Resor said. "A lot of penalty kills have been third and fourth line players that haven't been doing a lot of scoring, but they are much fresher."
With an .831 success rate, the penalty kill has been one of the team's staples this season and has been a major factor in keeping the Jumbos afloat. Neumann attributes the team's success on both ends of the ice to great chemistry, due in large part to the fact that individuals have been putting the team first.
"We have come together as a team on and off the ice," Melillo said. "We are more of a family this year."
Although Neumann and fellow co-captain David Antonelli are both juniors, Neumann says that the position, while an honor, in no way means that they are the sole team leaders, deferring instead to the bounty of youthful talent surrounding the experienced upperclassmen.
"We have the role as captains, but we have been so successful this year because it hasn't just been Dave and I stepping up," Neumann said.
The Jumbos struggled before this weekend's 1-0-1 performance at home, going 1-4 on a tough road trip, but they took great comfort in returning to the Malden Forum, where they are still undefeated on the season. The Jumbos will remain at home this weekend to take on conference rivals Amherst and Hamilton, games in which they hope to recapture the magic of their five-game win streak earlier in the year. In order to do so, though, Tufts will have to rely on its underclassmen to supply the necessary spark.
"It's always nice to just be home," Derosa said. "Once we get home, we haven't really lost yet, and hopefully we can continue to do that. Everything just seems to be better at home."
