With a NESCAC Tournament berth on the line this past weekend, the hockey team delivered.
Thanks to a pair of three−goal third periods which cemented late−game comebacks against ECAC East opponents University of New England (UNE) and University of Southern Maine, the Jumbos clinched their spot in the tournament, the second such berth in as many years.
Spectacular goaltending from sophomore Scott Barchard and clutch offense from junior tri−captain and forward Dylan Cooper combined to give Tufts some much−needed momentum before heading into its final two regular season games next weekend.
On Saturday night, Southern Maine junior forward Jon Rutt scored just 1:02 into the game, rattling Tufts and giving the Huskies an early edge. Rutt lit the lamp again in the opening stanza — this time on a power play — to give the hosts a 2−0 lead.
The Jumbos scrambled to get back in the game, and with only two seconds left before the first intermission, Cooper fed junior forward Tom Derosa for a power−play goal that cut the Huskies' lead in half.
But unfortunately for the Jumbos, Rutt continued his streaky shooting, potting his third goal of the night on a two−man advantage. Rutt's hat trick came just two minutes into the period, ballooning his squad's lead up to two tallies.
Giving up goals early has been a problem for the Jumbos all year long. Just last week, Tufts found itself down 3−0 early in the second period at home against Trinity and ultimately lost 4−1. On both Friday and Saturday, the trend of falling behind continued.
But this time, the Jumbos were able to claw their way back to two key victories.
Versus the Huskies, the momentum started to turn with junior forward Zach Diaco's team−best 14th goal of the season on a power play midway through the second period, which moved Tufts back within one goal.
Southern Maine freshman forward Tom Gosselin took a hooking minor early in the third period to give Tufts the chance to tie with the man−advantage, and the Jumbos' red−hot power play unit quickly cashed in on the opportunity, as offensively gifted freshman defenseman Trevor John tied the game at three goals apiece with a blast from the point.
Four minutes later, sophomore forward Matt Amico beat Huskies freshman goaltender Tim Gerrish to put the Jumbos ahead for the first time in the game. Cooper gave his team some breathing room, picking up an insurance marker on the power play to extend the Jumbos' lead to 5−3 with six minutes remaining.
At the other end, Barchard stood strong, making 20 of his 41 saves in the third period to keep Tufts' two−goal lead intact.
Senior forward Cory Korchin was not thrilled with the way the Jumbos played overall, but appreciated his team's grit in its big win.
"You don't want to be down in the third period and have to come back and win a game," Korchin said. "But it was a learning experience and also good for team−building."
In another crucial game on Friday night, the Jumbos were also able to rally to overcome a 2−1 deficit in the third period and defeat the University of New England (UNE) Nor'easters, 4−2 behind 60 saves from Barchard.
Following a scoreless first period, the Nor'easters struck first when UNE freshman forward Tyler Fleurent knocked in a rebound past Barchard to put the Nor'easters ahead 1−0. Later in the period, freshman forward Dylan Plimmer led an odd−man rush up the ice to set up Derosa for a game−tying power play goal. UNE sophomore forward Justin Miner beat Barchard with a shot from the slot to send the Jumbos into the second intermission down 2−1.
The teams combined for 26 shots on goal in the third period, but none was more important than Cooper's shot off of his own rebound with 1:13 remaining in the game.
After Korchin fired a wrist shot home past UNE first−year goaltender Dallas Ungurian to tie the score, Cooper's strong individual effort put Tufts ahead 3−2. Plimmer then secured a 4−2 win with an empty−net goal.
Barchard's 60 saves tied the current record for single−game saves set by James Kalec (LA '08) in 2005. The lofty total also boosted Barchard's total for the current season to 870, surpassing the program record he set as a freshman last year. After the Southern Maine contest, Barchard's mark sits at 911 saves.
Cooper was especially pleased with the team's effort as a whole this weekend.
"We got big plays from guys who haven't necessarily been showing up on the score sheet every game, and we played with the urgency we needed to win," he said. "In the third period, we won more battles, got to loose pucks, played an all−around better game."
The Jumbos' four−point weekend was their first since Dec. 4−5, when the team was in the midst of their season−best six−game winning streak. With at least three contests remaining, one win would tie this year's squad with the 2004−2005 Jumbos team for the most wins (12) in Tufts' NESCAC−era history.
Tufts will face ECAC East foes Saint Michael's College and Norwich University at home this weekend before turning its attention to the NESCAC Tournament the following week.
