Despite being the higher-ranked team, the Tufts men’s ice hockey team entered the quarterfinals of the NESCAC playoffs with some anxiety about its opponent, Williams. Throughout the season, the Jumbos continually struggled to make offensive plays against the Ephs’ defense — especially goalie Harrison Fogel. Of the three games that went into overtime this season, two were against Williams. Moreover, the last three games Tufts played against Williams ended in overtime losses: two this season and one last season.
Despite the tough matchup, hope was still high in the stands, with Jumbo fans excitedly anticipating the return of injured junior forward Jonathan Horn.
As with most ice hockey games, viewers can expect to see some intense physicality, and this game was no different. Only a little over a minute into the first period, Williams forward Conner Fitzpatrick received a penalty for cross-checking. Starting on the power play, Tufts senior forward Cole Dubicki took three shots on goal but couldn’t convert. While maintaining the puck in the offensive zone for most of the penalty, the Jumbos failed to generate a scoring opportunity.
A little under two minutes after the game returned to even strength, Horn received a penalty for roughing after some tense words were exchanged between the two teams. Six seconds later, after the faceoff, Williams defenseman Jared Lambright was whistled for interference.
The teams then played 4-on-4 hockey. The Ephs kept possession for most of this time, but the Jumbos’ senior goalie Gus Bylin blocked them out, saving two goals.
As even strength resumed, the next 10 minutes of the first period featured evenly matched competition, with both Fogel and Bylin stopping a flurry of shots. With two minutes left in the period, Tufts sophomore defenseman Jameson Klein cleared the puck out of the defensive zone and passed to Dubicki. Dubicki blazed down the ice with his signature speed, finding his way around an Ephs defenseman to pass to junior forward Trace Norwell in the high slot. Norwell fired the puck past Fogel, making the score 1–0 Jumbos at the end of the period.
At the start of the second period, Williams defenseman Wilson Farrow committed a penalty for tripping right in front of the Tufts bench. However, Tufts did not capitalize on the power play, tallying only two shots on goal.
As soon as the power play finished, Tufts found some momentum by blasting three shots at Fogel, but the Jumbos still came up short.
Williams scored seven minutes into the period. Ephs forward Brady Welsch passed the puck to defenseman Connor Berg, who sent it toward the net. Fitzpatrick then lobbed the rebound into the net, tying the game at 1–1.
At this point, the energy in Malden Valley Forum shifted as Tufts lost its lead. The Jumbos’ first line went silent as the Ephs maintained man-to-man coverage on senior forward Max Resnick and junior forward Ethan Ullrick. Tufts struggled to keep possession of the puck, preventing the team from making clean passes.
Five minutes later, the Ephs recreated nearly the same sequence that produced their first goal, taking a 2–1 lead.
Tufts, desperate to make up the deficit, took seven consecutive shots on goal within a minute and 20 seconds, but the attempts were unsuccessful. With five seconds left in the second period, Dubicki took a penalty for hooking, forcing the Jumbos to start the third period at a disadvantage.
Three minutes into the final period, an Eph intercepted the puck from the Jumbos in their defensive zone, leading to another score. The Jumbos were now down by two. Tufts still had a sliver of hope, though, when Farrow received a penalty for slashing, giving Tufts a 4-on-5 advantage. However, the power play ended with the Jumbos taking only one unsuccessful shot on goal.
It was not looking good for the Jumbos as they continued coming up empty on their shots on goal. The pressure seemed to get to Tufts when Dubicki took his second penalty of the night for elbowing a Williams player, increasing tension between the two teams. It became increasingly difficult for the referees to separate the players. Tufts pulled Bylin for an empty net 17 minutes in, but 6-on-5 hockey was still unsuccessful.
In a final attempt, head coach Patrick Norton called a timeout for the Jumbos with a minute and a half left, but Tufts was unable to produce any offensive magic.
The game marked the end of the Jumbos’ season, as well as the last time the seniors would play at Malden Valley Forum.
“The thing I’ll miss most about this group is just having the seniors around,” junior defenseman Sylas Oberting wrote in a message to the Daily. “I remember the first day I showed up to campus, I immediately felt like I was part of a brotherhood, and this class of seniors was instrumental to that.”
While their season may have ended earlier than they hoped, the Jumbos still have a lot to be proud of — something Norton emphasized in a message to the Daily.
“We played the most difficult schedule in all of [Division III] hockey this season, and the most challenging schedule Tufts [men’s ice hockey] has ever played,” Norton wrote. “To have a winning regular-season record, and a winning record against nationally ranked teams this season was outstanding, and we showed great resilience all year whenever we faced adversity. … This group should be extremely proud of that. We will learn from this season and continue to work hard and get better.”
