In the first "Fan the Fire" event of the new semester, the men's hockey team took to the ice on Saturday against the Trinity Bantams. A fan bus that provided easy access to the game for Tufts students helped to bring a strong crowd to the Malden Forum. But the game was more than just another date on the schedule, and rather served as a tribute to a much bigger cause. The Jumbos dedicated the night to raising money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer, creating a special "Pink in the Rink" night.
Accordingly, the team donned all-pink uniforms, the coaches all wore pink, and senior tri-captain goalie Scott Barchard even used a pink stick for the game. In addition, the team raffled off a special edition Tufts hockey jersey, which was won by senior Alex Dennett, who is also a staff photographer for the Tufts Daily.
The night was also used to highlight the continued link between Tufts athletics and the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, which partners college and high school teams with children with brain tumors. Accordingly, honorary teammate Chris Bartorelli, who has been with the Jumbos for the past three years, helped drop the puck for the ceremonial faceoff, with University President Anthony Monaco.
But even with all of the Pink in the Rink activities occurring before and during the game, the importance of the contest was not lost on the Jumbos or the Bantams, who sit at sixth and seventh place in the conference, respectively. The game was very even, with both teams registering 38 shots on goal. But even with six power play opportunities, the Jumbos only managed a shorthanded goal by senior tri-captain Matt Amico as Trinity took a 1-0 lead in the first period and never looked back.
The Jumbos came through with a 5-4 overtime victory on Sunday over Wesleyan, improving to 7-5 in the conference and 7-7-1 overall. Full coverage of that game and additional analysis of Saturday's game can be found on the Daily's sports blog, "The Score," at blogs.tuftsdaily.com/thescore.
