The hockey team continued to slip in the rankings this weekend, suffering losses to NESCAC rivals Wesleyan and Trinity on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
On Saturday, Trinity sophomore Chris Menard scored two goals in the Bantams' 8−2 win as seven different Bantams earned points in the contest. Tufts eventually turned to backup freshman goalkeeper Brian Phillips in an attempt to change the momentum after Junior Evin Koleini let up five goals on 17 shots.
The Jumbos simply could not contend with the Bantams' formidable balance and potent attack. Trinity took an early 5−0 lead, after converting four power−play advantages in the first period alone.
"They had a really good power play," senior quad−captain Dylan Cooper said. "I think we gave up five power−play goals. They set [Menard] up so that he was the shooter on those plays."
Adding to the team's troubles, the Jumbos' leading goal−scorer, freshman Kyle Gallegos, left the game early with an injury.
"I didn't see the second or third periods, but in the first period nobody stood out on their team," Gallegos said. "We had four or five penalties in the first ten minutes. That just kind of buried us."
The Bantams' goalkeepers silenced the Jumbos' scoring threats all night long. Senior goalie Wesley Vesprini denied 12 shots, while freshman Benjamin Coulthard saved ten Tufts attempts. But at the other end of the rink, the Jumbos could not find a way to stop the Bantam attack.
"A team is always more dangerous when they have depth," Cooper said. "You can play so many lines and keep putting them out because they're all threatening and they don't get tired. You can depend on a bunch of guys to score."
On Friday, Tufts faced Wesleyan and surged to an early 1−0 lead on a goal scored by senior Tom DeRosa. But after Cardinals sophomore John Guay broke a 3−3 tie late with a tally late in the second period, Wesleyan controlled the game and went on to hand Tufts its eleventh straight loss with a final score of 6−3.
The Jumbos showed more competitiveness in the second game, though, and after the Cardinals tied up the game after Derosa's goal, Tufts freshman Kyle Gallegos responded with a power−play goal of his own to bump the Jumbos' lead back to 2−1. The Cardinals then tied the game at 3−3, and went on to take the lead on Guay's go−ahead goal.
"We haven't played with a lead very much this season, and I don't think we really knew what to do, so we kind of held back a little bit, and they kind of took advantage of that and capitalized on some key opportunities," Gallegos said.
In the third period, Wesleyan dominated Tufts, out−shooting the Jumbos 15−1. Koleini had 29 saves, but faced so many shots that it made it hard to keep the Jumbos in the game.
"We kept them around too long and when we did get our chances we didn't shoot the puck," Cooper said. "We never took advantage of our chances to get down on their end."
Before the weekend, the team was optimistic about its playoff chances. But now, after twelve straight losses, the Jumbos know that they have a steep climb ahead.
"The losses are heartbreakers because we kind of had to win both if we wanted to get in the playoffs," Cooper said. "We've put ourselves in a situation where we almost have to win out every other game of the season and hope that some of the other NESCAC teams lose some of their games."
Next weekend, the Jumbos will host the Universities of New England and Southern Maine, still desperately seeking a win that has eluded them for months.
"It was a frustrating weekend for us," Gallegos said. "We just want to finish the year strong, and hopefully get some momentum going into next year."
