In its final regular season doubleheader, the men's ice hockey team split a pair of home games against conference rivals Bowdoin and Colby to move to 9-8-1 in the NESCAC and, most importantly, clinch its first-ever home playoff berth in next weekend's conference tournament. They got there with a 3-2 defeat of Colby on Saturday afternoon after taking a disheartening 9-2 loss to Bowdoin on Friday.
Sophomore forward Kyle Gallegos, who leads the team in scoring, had two goals including the game-winner, and freshman forward Tyler Voigt added a third to help lift Tufts over the visiting Colby squad.
To clinch home ice for the playoffs, the Jumbos needed to either win both games, or split the weekend along with losses for both Wesleyan and Williams. Although the Jumbos were unable to grab four points, the Cardinals and Ephs helped them along. Wesleyan fell to Trinity in a 5-2 decision on Friday evening, while Williams lost 3-1 to conference leader Amherst on Saturday.
Early on in Saturday's contest, Gallegos gave the Jumbos the early advantage with a goal less than five minutes in, assisted by defenseman Nick Metcalfe and forward Dylan Plimmer, both juniors. The 1-0 score held until the beginning of the second period, when Voigt doubled Tufts' advantage with a tally of his own.
A minute into the final stanza, Colby sophomore Nick Lanza scored on a breakaway to pull the Mules within a goal. However, it took the Jumbos just four minutes to extend their lead back to two. At the 5:34 mark, Voigt and classmate defenseman Shawn Power assisted Gallegos on his second score of the day, giving Tufts a 3-1 lead and ultimately becoming the game-winning tally.
"Shawn and Tyler were able to get a turnover on [Colby's] blue line and put the puck on the net," Gallegos said. "I was able to get [there] and put in the rebound. I think our forecheck was really working against Colby, and that helped."
With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Colby pulled goalkeeper Matt Delaney, and the Mules capitalized from the man advantage, with senior Dan Nelson netting the Mules' second score with just 30 seconds remaining. But as the clock ticked down, Colby was unable to find the equalizer, and Tufts prevailed, 3-2.
Saturday's contest was a must-win for the Jumbos, who dropped a 9-2 contest on Friday in front of a large crowd at the Malden Forum. In the Polar Bears' victory, senior Jordan Lalor and sophomore Colin Downey each contributed four-point efforts, who finished the conference regular season in second.
In the first period, Bowdoin jumped out to a 4-0 lead, provoking Tufts head coach Brian Murphy to pull his starting goalkeeper, senior tri-captain Scott Barchard, in favor of classmate EvinKoleini, who entered the game with just over five minutes remaining in the first.
"Bowdoin is a good team," Voigt said. "I think most of their goals came on the run, and our forwards need to come back and communicate with our defense better so everyone has a guy and there isn't anyone left open."
The Jumbos tried to piece together a comeback at the start of the second period, and senior forward Evan Story netted his fourth goal of the season at the 1:15 mark to pull them within three. But after several Tufts efforts to pull closer, Bowdoin gained control of the game and answered Story's goal with another four-goal spree to move ahead 8-1 midway through the second period.
"[Bowdoin's scoring right after Story did] definitely hurt," Voigt said. "We gained some momentum when he scored, but they came back quick and got a couple on us, which deflated our morale."
Murphy looked to the bench a second time, this time replacing Koleini with sophomore netminder Brian Phillips. Minutes later, junior defenseman Jared Barker capitalized on a five-on-three power play to light the lamp, pulling the Jumbos one goal closer, 8-2.
In the final period, Phillips made several outstanding saves, rejecting 16 Bowdoin shots. But with less than two minutes remaining, the Jumbos' defense collapsed, and freshman Danny Palumbo added a ninth Polar Bears goal.
"We definitely missed a couple of opportunities. I don't think they were doing anything special defensively, but their offense was what really makes them go," Gallegos said. "We didn't have an answer for all of the opportunities they were getting."
The Polar Bears held a wide margin in shot advantage, 45-34, and while the Jumbos cleared their bench in the goalkeeping position, Bowdoin goalie Steve Messina had a solid 32-save performance. In the loss, the Jumbos, who went just 2-for-6 on power plays, missed countless scoring opportunities and sent several shots just wide of the net.
On Saturday, the Jumbos, who are the NESCAC's fourth seed, will host the fifth-seeded Ephs at the Malden Forum. Last winter, Tufts missed out on the conference tournament altogether. The Jumbos, who have never won a NESCAC tournament game, hope to capitalize on a prime opportunity to do so on their own ice.
"It's really big to have a home playoff game this weekend," Gallegos said. "Nobody likes to travel and we feel that we have the advantage on our rink."
