On Saturday, the ice hockey team rebounded from a tough loss to Bowdoin the night before to beat Colby 3−1 in the second game of its NESCAC weekend doubleheader. Senior Evan Story and freshman Tyler Voigt each had a goal and an assist to lead the Jumbos to their first victory in Waterville, Maine, since 2006.
The Jumbos split the weekend and improved to 4−5 overall, while returning to the .500 mark in the NESCAC at 3−3. Meanwhile, the Mules dropped their second straight game, falling to 2−6 overall and 1−5 in conference play.
"Our win against Colby was extremely important," Story said. "It put a halt to our three−game losing streak in the NESCAC. There's a big difference between 2−4 and 3−3 [in the conference]."
Tufts gained crucial momentum by scoring first, something the team has struggled to do as of late. With just under three minutes remaining in the first period, Voigt and junior Dylan Plimmer assisted Story as he knocked in his third goal of the season. The 1−0 score held for the remainder of the period, and senior tri−captain goalkeeper Barchard made 14 stops to hold the narrow advantage.
Five minutes into the second period, however, Colby equalized on a goal from senior Tom McGinn, who scored twice when the two teams met last season. Then, late in the second, Story connected with sophomore Garrett Sider, who put the puck past Colby keeper Matt Delaney to give Tufts a 2−1 advantage.
"Garrett did a great job getting into an open spot on the ice to get a breakaway and was able to bury the puck," Story said.
In the third, the Jumbos added an insurance tally when Voigt scored shorthanded and unassisted less than four minutes in. Voigt, who has three goals and five assists on the season, now leads Tufts in scoring with eight points. After a 16−save second period, Barchard stopped 13 third−period shots to preserve the Jumbos' advantage.
Barchard posted 43 saves in the game.
"I would say that it was a combination of [our defense and Barchard stepping up]," Voigt said. "Our defense played really well limiting Colby's chances. There were a few times that Colby had some pretty good looks and Barchard came up with some big saves."
On Friday, the Jumbos were less successful, falling to Bowdoin 5−1 in a crucial NESCAC contest. Five different players scored for the Polar Bears, helping them improve to 2−2−1 in conference play.
The Polar Bears drew first blood five minutes into the contest, as Bowdoin junior Rob MacGregor controlled a rebound and sent it past Barchard. Sider capitalized on a Bowdoin penalty early in the second period to tie the game, but from there the Polar Bears regained the lead and never looked back.
After Tufts freshman defender Blake Edwards was called for a five−minute major penalty, Bowdoin junior co−captain Tim McGarry scored from the right face−off circle to put the Polar Bears up 2−1 halfway through the period. Then, with five minutes remaining in the second, Bowdoin again cashed in on a power play when sophomore forward Harry Matheson put the Polar Bears up by two.
"In the second period we had a major penalty which put us down for five minutes, and combined with a couple minors, it transferred a lot of momentum to Bowdoin," Story said. "We also had a couple guys develop injuries throughout the game, which forced us to work with a short bench and allowed them to take over."
In the final period, freshman Danny Palumbo tacked on another Bowdoin score at the 11:37 mark, and teammate Robert Toczylowski put the game out of reach just four minutes later.
"To go a man down against a skilled team like Bowdoin is not what we want to do," Voigt said. "Bowdoin has a good power play and they capitalized on their chances."
Tufts was outshot 37 to 20 and converted just one of five power play chances. Meanwhile, Bowdoin's Steve Messina was forced to make just 19 saves.
"The team feels pretty good," Voigt said. "Obviously we would have liked to take both wins, but we were on the road in two environments that are pretty tough to play in, so to come away with at least one was huge.
The Jumbos will rest up over winter break before returning to action on Jan. 6 at the Codfish Bowl.
