If there was ever any doubt that the hockey team belongs in the NESCAC, perennially one of the toughest Div. III hockey conferences in the country, it has been erased now.
In the opening weekend of its 2009-10 campaign, Tufts pulled off a historic 3-3 tie against powerhouse Middlebury on Friday and then barely fell to Williams in a 2-0 grudge match one day later.
"We're in it to be in the hunt," coach Brian Murphy said. "We're not just in this league to be in the league."
On Friday, the Jumbos registered their first point against a Middlebury program that has beaten them in 13 straight games, the first dating back to the reinstatement of Tufts' hockey program in the 1986-87 season.
Despite carrying a two-goal lead into the third period, the Jumbos found themselves on the edge of defeat as the Panthers netted three unanswered goals to turn the tables and take a 3-2 advantage into the final minute of play.
But, with sophomore goaltender Scott Barchard pulled for an extra man and Middlebury down to just four skaters after a cross-checking penalty, the Jumbos finally reversed their fortunes.
With 57 seconds remaining, freshman defenseman Trevor John scored his first career goal, assisted by junior forward Tom Derosa and junior defenseman Andy Davis, to knot the score at 3-3. Neither team scored in overtime.
"The freshman class has really filled a lot of holes we need them to fill," Derosa said. "Trevor had a great game and is going to be a big part of our team going forward."
After a dead-locked first period, the Jumbos seized control of the contest in the second period, hammering Middlebury sophomore goalie John Yanchek with 20 shots and scoring twice. Derosa struck first at 4:41, aided by junior forwards Mike Vitale and Zach Diaco. The latter would add a tally of his own with a short-handed strike at 12:27 for a 2-0 lead.
Barchard stopped all 27 shots he faced through the first two periods and finished the game with 43 saves.
"At the end of the day, we got one more point out of the weekend than we did last year," Murphy said. "But Friday was still disappointing because we had a two-goal lead in the third period at home and we should win that game, regardless of who it is against."
But for Murphy, that sort of disappointment is a good sign.
"I don't think the guys were happy with the tie," he said. "A lot of guys were disappointed. That to me is a progress. It doesn't matter who we are playing; we want to win. Mentally, this group is not going to be intimidated with whoever our opponent is."
It was that sort of maturity and grit that carried the Jumbos through Friday's battle with the then-No. 7 team in the nation. Though the Jumbos' power play struggled, going just 1-for-8, their defense and penalty kill were stellar, holding Middlebury to 1-for-6 on its opportunities — a major feat, as Middlebury claimed both the best scoring offense and power play in the NESCAC last year.
"We blocked a lot of shots, especially on the penalty kill," Barchard said. "We didn't let [Middlebury] get comfortable in our zone and set up the plays they wanted to. We were getting our sticks in the passing lanes and disrupting plays.
"I'm proud of every one of the guys and the work they did in our zone and their strong back-checking," he continued. "They keep it simple for me."
"On the penalty kill they'd get the first shot off but then we'd knock the rebound right out of the zone," Derosa added. "And Scott was stopping every shot we let him see, doing everything we needed him to."
On Saturday, Tufts and Williams battled heatedly through the first two periods of their matchup at the Malden Forum. Both squads battered the opposing goaltender with a continuous flurry of shots, but neither side was able to dent the scoreboard until nearly the end of the middle frame.
With less than three minutes remaining in the period, Williams sophomore Justin Troiani picked up a rebound off of Barchard and banged it in for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Though Barchard stood tall in the third period with 13 saves to give the Jumbos a chance to get back in the game, they were just unable to capitalize and could not knot the score as senior goalie Marc Pulde stymied them with 11 saves in the final period and 35 in the game. Barchard finished with 42.
"At the beginning of any season, you're always trying to see what works best," Derosa said. "We just need to get a few things together to get our offense going. It's just a matter of time before we start scoring goals."
Williams added an insurance goal in the final minute when senior forward Alex Smigelski cashed in on the empty net, as the Jumbos had pulled Barchard for an extra man.
The Jumbos were not without their scoring opportunities, as they went 0-for-6 on the power play, continuing to struggle with the same issue that troubled them last year.
"We need to find a way to be a little more consistent on the power play," Murphy said. "Saturday we were a little out of sync, but [Williams is] a top-four NESCAC team without a doubt in my mind. The power play let us down a little, but we hit some posts and had our chances and just couldn't put it in."
Though Tufts was relatively pleased with what it saw this weekend, it is not yet content. The Jumbos will now look to register their first win of the season tonight versus Curry of the ECAC Northeast before participating in the Rutland Herald Invitational over the Thanksgiving break.
"We're not here to have moral victories," Murphy said.
