At the start of winter break, the hockey team had every right to feel good about its chances to climb the NESCAC standings. They boasted a 4-3-1 record that included a landmark win at Middlebury in the season opener, and were optimistic that star goalie Scott Barchard would soon make his return between the pipes.
But the team's season has now taken a downward spiral that the Jumbos have yet to escape. Tufts slumped to five straight defeats over the break, including tight losses to Amherst and Babson, a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of UMass-Boston and a heartbreaking 4-3 loss on Tuesday to Suffolk. The bad results are snowballing and the Jumbos simply cannot find a way to put an end to it.
"We just haven't been making the plays, haven't been getting the bounces," senior quad-captain Andy Davis said. "We just need to continue to work hard and fight for every puck to get out of this losing streak."
Tuesday's loss to Suffolk came in agonizing fashion, after Tufts had tied the score at three with a goal from freshman Kyle Gallegos with just 2:58 remaining in regulation. But Suffolk sophomore forward Andrew Monesi was able to slot home the winner with just 55 seconds left in overtime to give the Rams just their fifth victory of the season.
"We cleared the puck out, but they took it right back," Davis said. "[Monesi] just jumped on the puck and had a great shot to get the goal."
Critical to the team's recent woes has been the continued absence of junior quad-captain Barchard, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury that he sustained in the Nov. 27 shoot-out loss against Brockport.
The injury, initially thought to be a mild sprain, has dragged on much like the team's losing streak and has caused the All-NESCAC goaltender to miss the last eight games. To make matters worse, Barchard is now likely to undergo surgery that would cause him to miss the rest of the season. Although Barchard's primary replacement, junior Evin Koleini, has performed admirably, the Jumbos have sorely missed having their best shot-stopper in goal.
"Unfortunately, Scott has an ankle problem that is likely to require surgery, so he's probably done," said senior quad-captain Dylan Cooper, "It's a big loss, but we just have to do our best without him."
A particular low point of the long winter break came on the road against UMass-Boston, where Tufts allowed five goals in the third period en route to a 7-2 defeat. Freshman goalie Brian Phillips struggled in his first collegiate start and the Jumbos were exposed numerous times on defense, allowing six Beacons to have multi-point games.
The loss was emblematic of Tufts' recent woes. Throughout the four games during winter break, the team was outscored 24-11 and allowed an average of 4.8 goals per game, hardly a recipe for success.
"Evin [Koleini] has been playing really well, but we just haven't been giving him the support he needs," Davis said. "The whole team needs to play together, and we just haven't been doing that recently."
Tufts has also coupled their defensive woes with poor scoring. The team has failed to score more than three goals at any time during the losing streak.
"We haven't had the scoring production," Cooper said. "We have to get back to basics, getting more shots on goal, more people to the net and more chippy goals. That's what wins hockey games."
Despite recent poor performances, there is still plenty of time left in the season for the Jumbos to turn their year around. All remaining games are against conference opponents, starting Friday at home against Bowdoin, which will provide plenty of opportunities to make up places in the standings.
"We need better puck possession and better neutral-zone play," Cooper said. "If we can get the puck in the offensive zone more often, we should be more successful."
