After three straight losses, two of them to ECAC North foes, the Tufts hockey team has witnessed its unblemished division record go up in flames. Despite the brief slide, the Jumbos still cling to a tie for third place overall with Lebanon Valley, a mere two points behind first place Fitchburg State.
After losing to Fitchburg State this past weekend, the Jumbos attempted to right their ship with a game against UMass-Boston. Unfortunately for Tufts, it was not to be, as the underdog Jumbos fell 4-3 in overtime.
“We actually played a good game,” sophomore forward Jordan Karp said. “I think we really impressed some people with how well we played.”
The visiting Jumbos jumped out to an early lead, courtesy of senior assistant captain Scott Sullivan. Sullivan took a pass from fellow assistant captain junior Dan Mahoney at 12:13 in the first and poked it home for a power-play score. Sullivan then struck again less than two minutes into the next period of play, netting his 15th goal of the year. Freshman Tim Havern was credited with the assist.
UMass-Boston then made a game out of it, erupting for three unanswered goals. The Beacons scored two goals in a six minute stretch in the second, and then put home the go-ahead lamp-lighter with 15 minutes to go in the contest.
The Brown and Blue managed to regain its composure, though, and refused to go down without a fight. Senior captain Drew Carleton scored his 15th goal of the year with less than two minutes to go in regulation to keep his squad alive and send the game to overtime. But UMass-Boston’s Joe Campanale ended the hopes of the upset-minded Jumbos a short time later as he scored 4:13 into the extra period.
“UMass-Boston came in thinking that they were going to kill us, but we showed them otherwise,” Karp said. “Even so, we are fortunate that this game had no bearing on our divisional record.”
This was not the case against ECAC-rival Worcester State on Monday, however, as the visiting Lancers nipped the Jumbos by a 3-2 count. The squad suffered its second consecutive divisional loss to a team that currently sits in 11th place in the ECAC.
“We weren’t prepared for Worcester State,” Karp said. “That was the main problem. We just weren’t ready for them. Plain and simple.”
Worcester State got on the board first at 2:41, as Mike Bardsley beat Tufts’ Ian Kell to capitalize on a power play. The hosts evened things a short while later when Sullivan converted a power play opportunity of his own at 5:14. The red-hot senior was assisted by Karp and Carleton.
The second period was when the Lancers would make their move, though, taking a commanding 3-1 lead just a minute in. The visitors scored a go-ahead goal and the eventual game-winner just 11 seconds apart to put the Jumbos away for good. Junior Justin Picone managed to scare Worcester State one more time with 33 seconds to go when he scored on a slapper, but the squad fell short in its efforts to produce the equalizer. Karp picked up his second assist of the game on Picone’s goal.
The Jumbos may be on the wrong end of a three-game fall, but they are still in good position to possibly capture first place in the North Division. Despite the two-point margin that separates the Jumbos and Fitchburg State, Tufts has played one fewer game than the Falcons. Because wins in hockey are worth two points, that one game could be the difference between first and third. For that reason, a lot will be at stake when the Jumbos take their home ice for the last time this season against Boston College on Saturday night.
“Fitchburg State is the biggest game of the year for us,” Karp said. “It’s huge. We have to get back on track.”
Tufts is also a mere one point behind Wentworth, but Tufts could easily overtake second place by defeating Wentworth in the teams’ Feb. 17 meeting.
No matter how you slice it, then, the team’s remaining games are of up-most importance.
“We’re entering a tough stretch of the season,” Karp said. “We’re jockeying for playoff position as we face some tough division rivals. So, regaining our focus is clearly the key right now.”