Heading into the final weekend of competition with the entire season on the line, and months worth of skepticism and doubt riding on its shoulders, the men's hockey team emerged as the top seed in the ECAC Northeast after a tie and victory against two of the top teams in the league.

Thursday night featured a marquee match between the defending champion Wentworth Leopards, who lead the league in defense, and Tufts, which boasts the most explosive offense. What ensued, however, was the exact opposite, as Wentworth was on the constant attack, but the Jumbos' stalwart defense maintained and was, at times, brilliant in the eventual 2-2 tie.

"I think everybody knew it was going to be a big game against Wentworth," senior tri-captain Scott Hayes said. "Both games this weekend were basically must-win situations. Everyone was really focused, and we wanted to come out of the game with at least a point. We weren't looking for a tie, but we knew that they were a really strong team."

The first period of the game was rather uneventful as both freshman Ben Crapser of Tufts and freshman Raj Bhangoo of Wentworth were able to fend off any offensive barrages. The Leopards goalkeeper, who has allowed less than two goals per game, also leads the league in save percentage, at .933. Although Wentworth was applying strong pressure in the second period, junior Jordan Karp made a defensive stop, leading to a fast break and a goal by sophomore Rob LaQuaglia.

The lead lasted for less than two minutes, though, as a fallen defender left Wentworth's Ivan Fillipov wide open in front of the net for an easy goal. Junior Jason Boudrow, the nation's leading scorer, offered a response later in the period, sending a quick wrist shot to the top left corner of the goal with 5:13 remaining in the period.

The Leopards tied up the game in the opening seconds of the third period on an errant bounce off of a defenseman's stick and, despite some of the most intense hockey played all season, the score remained locked for the remainder of the game.

"The last goal was a fluke. It was a bad bounce," Hayes said. "We were playing great defense. We didn't give them that many other chances after that."

While the quality shots were not there for the Leopards, they maintained constant pressure and unloaded 12 shots on Crapser in the final frame. Any previous struggles the rookie goalie had experienced during the past few weeks we absent, though, as he preserved the tie for the remainder of the game.

"He played a great game," Hayes said of Crapser. "They had a lot of shots, even though they weren't all quality shots. Ben wasn't letting up too many rebounds."

The final ten minutes of the game were filled with intense hockey on both sides of the puck, as well as some monster hits and very few penalties. With only a combined four powerplays on the game, the lenient referees allowed the two powerful teams to battle it out on the ice.

"They let a lot of stuff go. They let us play, and sometimes that's good," Hayes said. "In a good game where it is fast, it is almost better not to call so many penalties."

When the five-minute overtime period ended with no changes in the scoreboard, the Jumbos had to let out a sigh of relief, after having been out-shot 37-23 on the night. For a team that lost only one league game this season, however, earning anything less than a win is frustrating.

"I think we have played so well this year that we don't expect anything less than a win," Hayes said.

Nevertheless, the tie gave the team enough points to claim first place in the league, even before it hit the ice for the final game of the regular season Saturday at MIT against New Hampshire College.

The Penmen, who secured first place in the ECAC Northeast Division II, had recently disposed of Wentworth, and gave the Jumbos their money's worth. Out-shooting Tufts 13-5 in the first period, the Penmen found net once on a power-play goal.

"We came out a little flat," Hayes said. "We were down, but we stepped it up later in the game."

In the second period, senior tri-captain Natan Obed scored a pair of power-play goals, Boudrow added a shorthanded goal, and the Jumbos found themselves in a 3-3 tie entering the final frame. The team hoped to avoid the exhausting marathon game like that against Wentworth two nights before. Hayes was able follow through, ending the contest in regulation as he took a feed from senior Justin Picone, while cutting towards the net.

"It was a quick bang-bang play," Hayes said. "Carceo took the puck down the left side, dropped it back to Justin, and I was going to net on the right. He fed the puck to me, and I scored."

Crapser again had a monumental game, stopping 19 shots in the final period, for a total of 39 saves on the night.

"Ben made some great saves, and a lot of the seniors stepped it up and showed great leadership in the last period of the game," Hayes said.

The victory, coupled with Johnson & Wales' loss to Wentworth on Sunday, placed the Jumbos in sole possession of first place in the conference heading into the postseason with a 15-1-1 record. Junior Jason Boudrow, who had three points on the weekend, also sealed up the nation's scoring title as he netted 64 points in 24 games.

Seeded first in the conference, the Jumbos will suit up against Salve Regina in the first round, a team the Jumbos have already defeated twice this season. The game will take some place at Boston College on Sunday at 2 p.m. Resting until Wednesday, Tufts will then begin practice looking to defend their number one seed.

"We have to take every game seriously in the tournament," Hayes said. "You can't overlook a team because you can lose to anyone. Everybody is feeling pretty good right now and with a couple days off to get healthy, we should be ready to go."