Hockey loses four of first five games in 2019

Tufts resumed league play in January with games against Hamilton (7-6-1) and Amherst (7-4-2) on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12, dropping both games by scores of 4–2 and 6–1, respectively. The Jumbos are now 2-6 in the NESCAC and 5-9 overall after losing four of its last five games and being outscored by an average of three goals a match in the five-game stretch. Coach Pat Norton commented on the team's form.

“Two of the last five games I feel like we played very well, [but] just unfortunately came up on the short side of it,” Norton said. “We haven’t been able to find the back of the net with any kind of consistency."

Although Tufts only allowed one power play goal in each of the two games, penalties plagued the team throughout the entirety of both competitions as they totaled 12 penalty minutes in each game.

The Jumbos’ three game losing skid began with a tough 9–2 loss at the hands of the 10th ranked Endicott Gulls (10-3-2). The lopsided margin betrayed the narrow shots on goal margin, where Endicott barely edged out Tufts 38-34 . The damage was done on power plays, where Tufts failed to score on all of its man-up opportunities. Endicott scored on two of its four. Three different goaltenders saw action for the Jumbos, each of whom allowed three goals.

Tufts’ 2019 action began at the 54th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament at UMass Boston after not playing a game for almost a month. The Jumbos fell 3–1 in the first game of the tournament to a talented UMass Boston (13-4) team. The power play unit for the Jumbos continued to struggle in the game against UMass Boston; it could not find the back of the net on four different power play opportunities. Tufts has only scored on 10.4 percent of their power plays this season, the second worst success rate in the NESCAC.

"I think first of all we're trying to figure out a way to get more offensive production so we're obviously going to work on our power play," Norton said. "We're working on our transitional defensive play for both of those teams ... I think that's going to be really important against both teams ... I think the guys are ready and excited for the challenge."

After failing to win in the opening round, Tufts faced Bryn Athyn (4-14) in the third-place game. The Jumbos came away victorious in a hard fought 2–1 battle against the Lions. First-year goaltender Josh Sarlo led the way for the Jumbos in net as he saved 36 of the 37 shots he faced. Providing the spark offensively was junior forward Anthony Farinacci who found the back of the net twice in the game, including the game winning goal with 1:51 remaining in the third period. Sophomore Hayden Smith, who took seven shots in the Jumbos last three games, recapped the team's winter break performances.

"I think we definitely had some bursts of some really good hockey," Smith said. "I think we definitely could have played better ... but we have a really good team and we have a lot of guys who are capable of some really good stuff on the ice, so moving forward I have a lot of confidence in the team."

The Jumbos faced two NESCAC opponents in consecutive days at Valley Forum prior to the almost month-long hiatus in the schedule. On Dec. 8, the second of the two games, the Jumbos were shut out 2­–0 against the Colby Mules (5-5-3). Both teams generated little offense in the first period as they only managed five shots on goal each, but the Mules found the back of the net just over six minutes into the game when senior forward Nick O’Connor scored the first goal of the game. Although the Jumbos outshot the Mules 20 to 14 over the remainder of the two periods, the Mules’ junior goaltender Andrew Tucci stood strong, completing his third consecutive shutout.

Prior to facing Colby, Tufts took on a Bowdoin (5-7-1) team that was coming off a gritty 5–4 victory over a struggling Southern Maine team. The Jumbos dominated to the tune of 6–1, giving them what was their fourth victory in five games. The Jumbos controlled the ice from the very beginning, netting the first of two power play goals of the contest just over three minutes in.  Junior Tyler Scroggins led the way for the Jumbos with five assists in the game, the most assists a Tufts player has notched in a game since 2000.

The Jumbos have a tough schedule ahead of them as they look to get back on track in NESCAC play this weekend. They travel to Connecticut to face the top two teams in the conference in Trinity (9-3-2) and Wesleyan (7-3-2) on Jan. 18 and 19, respectively.