It only took 31 seconds of overtime for sophomore Mike Carceo to find net and dispose of conference rival Johnson and Wales, the only other undefeated team in the ECAC Northeast. Fueled by the energy of the lively home crowd on Sunday night, the tenacious Wildcats played a physical 60 minutes, but could not provide the answer to the Jumbos' power play unit, which ended the game in overtime with a 6-5 score.

"I think there was a sense that we were going to score, and right away," coach Brian Murphy said. "It was as pretty a goal as you will see. I'd like to say that I drew it up exactly how it happened, but we have some skilled guys out there who can make those plays."

Coming off of a tough loss to Babson last Tuesday, the Jumbos, now 8-0 in conference play, wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Carceo scored twice and senior tri-captain Natan Obed added another goal within the first 13 minutes, sending a quick message to Johnson and Wales that neither a snowstorm nor a late Sunday night game with a hostile crowd could distract the Jumbos from being on the top of their game.

"They have a lot of student support," Murphy said. "We knew they had played the night before, and we tried to take the crowd out of it right away."

"Their fans were crazy and even rude at times," senior tri-captain Dan Mahoney said. "It made it a fun atmosphere to play in, and it made it especially sweet when we beat them."

Instead of putting the Wildcats away though, the Jumbos sat back and relinquished two quick goals, making the score 3-2 after the first period of play.

"Lately, we haven't been getting the lead early," Mahoney said. "We went up 3-0, but then we relaxed a bit and let them get back into it."

Tufts padded its lead in the second period with goals from Obed and Mahoney, making the score 5-2. Again the Jumbos let up a bit, though, and allowed the Wildcats to gain momentum. Eventually, Johnson and Wales evened the score at five goals apiece early in the third period.

"We got sloppy early in the third," Murphy said. "If there was one negative thing to take from the game, that would be it. We have to be smarter when we have the lead."

In the closing minute of the game, Johnson and Wales picked up a penalty, its 17th of the game, giving Tufts a power play heading into the overtime period. The Jumbos, who lead the conference in conversion of power plays with 34.5 percent, made the Wildcats pay for that mistake almost immediately.

"They are a very good team, very skilled," Murphy said. "If you look at their record, obviously they've been able to beat just about everybody. We went down on a Sunday night, it was late, and it was a really good win for us."

The Wildcats' physical style of play was not enough to fluster the Jumbos, and all but one of the Tufts goals came off of a power play. Johnson and Wales leads the conference in penalty minutes, averaging 23.4 per game, compared to Tufts' 12.8.

"They were physical and they were cheap," Mahoney said. "We were on the power play all day - it killed them. They are very undisciplined, and we took advantage that. It was a big win because they are one of the top teams in the league."

The Jumbos, on the other hand, are currently leading the nation in fewest penalty minutes per game, and their discipline clearly has been a factor in making them the only undefeated team in conference play.

"We are a pretty disciplined team," Murphy said. "You can't take a lot of penalties and expect to win."

Besides being a huge confidence booster for the team, the win put the Jumbos back on track as they gear up to continue playing the top teams in the league.

"I think people are gunning for us," Murphy said. "People are out to play their best games against us. We are in the difficult part of our schedule, and this is not the playoffs - we need to keep getting wins."

Sunday's game also marked a milestone for junior Jason Boudrow, whose four assists gave him 101 career points, a feat accomplished in just 37 games. The US College Hockey Online Player of the Week continues to lead the nation in points, averaging just under four per game.

Next up for the Jumbos is conference rival Worcester State, which is currently 7-7, on Tuesday night at 8 p.m.