Last year, current seniors Tom DeRosa, Dylan Cooper and Zach Diaco made up the bulk of the offense on a Tufts team that finished with a 12-10-3 record. DeRosa and Diaco led the Jumbos with 15 goals each and more than 10 assists apiece, and Cooper, who added nine goals of his own, had a season total of 12 assists and 21 points.
These seniors continue to power the Jumbo attack, but this year the trio is getting some help from freshman forward Kyle Gallegos, who has emerged as Tufts' leading goal scorer. DeRosa continues to lead the team in points with 20 after Tuesday's game at Suffolk, a 4-3 overtime loss that was Tufts' sixth straight defeat, but Gallegos has scored nine times this season, twice more than DeRosa, and has contributed six assists as well, earning the respect of opponents and teammates alike.
"His skills are exceptional. He is smooth, shifty in an effortless manner," freshman Tim Mitropoulos said. "Kyle works hard in practice, always trying to get better and make his teammates better."
Gallegos grew up in Colorado and began playing hockey at age five. Now, in his 15th year with the sport, he still sees room for improvement. While he has had no trouble scoring at the college level, adjusting to the college game's stricter rules has been difficult for someone who admits that he has a strong temper — his 15 penalties this season lead the team.
"I like to mix it up a bit on the ice," Gallegos said. "I get pretty heated and tend to take too many penalties."
Despite Gallegos' scoring prowess, he's still a freshman and must take the lumps that being a freshman entails. But Gallegos doesn't mind picking up pucks at the end of practice and taking out the locker-room trash as long as it earns him the respect of the older players.
Being part of the team's season-opening 3-0 victory at Middlebury helped endear him to the older guys as well.
"None of the seniors on the team had ever beaten them, he said. "I could tell it meant a lot to them."
