Senior hockey captain Drew Carleton scored a hat trick Saturday night en route to 7-4 victory over Johnson and Wales University in the ECAC Northeast Division Playoff quarterfinal game Now, the third-seeded Jumbos advance to the semi-finals on Wednesday night at Fitchburg State against the second-seeded Falcons.

“Drew shot the puck more last night,” senior forward Tom Feeley said. “He scored in key situations and gave us the lead. He came to play, and he performed really well.”

The visiting Wildcats took to the ice forcefully, as junior Bill Saltzman lit up the scoreboard just 45 seconds into the game. The Wildcats’ lead was short-lived, however, as Carleton answered at 3:17 with his 25th tally of the season, off a Pete Schieffelin assist. The Brown and Blue redoubled their efforts in the final stretch of the first, converting on two power plays to push the squad to a 3-1 lead heading into the second stanza. Junior Natan Obed found the net at 12:15 for his eighth goal of the season, while senior leading point-scorer Scott Sullivan got the feed from Carleton and sophomore Jordan Karp, converting on the power play less than two minutes later for his 17th goal.

“We all came out really focused,” Carleton said. “We knew it was potentially our last game, so we just didn’t hold back. Everyone gave 110 percent and played hard all the way through.”

Tufts kicked off another scoring run early in the second, when Feeley deposited his second puck of the season off of a Scott Hayes rebound at 6:13. Johnson and Wales would not surrender, however, and Wildcat Tory Jacob slid one past goaltender Ian Kell at 12:55 to close in on the Jumbos, 2-4. Carleton soon cushioned his team’s lead, though, adding his second tally of the event off a picturesque wrist shot with 2:04 remaining in the middle period.

Carleton, still fired up from his previous goal, exploded into the final period of the game to complete a hat trick, stretching the Jumbo lead to 6-2 at 5:23. The tally, assisted by freshman Mike Carceo and Shieffelin, was Carleton’s 27th of the season, a mark that ties a Tufts career high.

However, a lapse in the Jumbo defense, coupled with chippy play and a series of nine penalties called against both teams, allowed for the Wildcats to creep back into the game with just a few minutes remaining. With less than four minutes left in the contest, Wildcat Scott Graham scored on the power play, and Saltzman quickly followed, putting away his second of the evening with 1:22 left to play.

“We got caught in transition,” Carleton said. “At that point we were pretty confident, so we knew we just had to remain strong through the last few minutes.”

Feeley agreed that his teammates kept under control during the last-minute Wildcat rally.

“We had been in the box a lot towards the end of the game,” he said. “The calls weren’t going our way, but we pretty much had it under control.”

Tufts finished the final frame with prowess, as freshman Robby LaQuaglia sealed the win for his team with an empty net goal at 19:12, with the help of Obed, who had two assists on the night.

Throughout the match, the squad capitalized on several power play scoring opportunities, which has been a difficult feat for the Brown and Blue over the past few games. The team also held a tight defensive zone and concentrated on overcoming Johnson and Wales’ rough style of play.

“Our power play was on,” Feeley said. “We moved the puck around really well and found the open man.”

Sophomore goaltender Ian Kell stood on his head in goal, blocking 28 shots on the night to clinch the Jumbos’ first playoff victory since the 1988 campaign. While the team had 47 total shots on goal, the Wildcats only managed 33.

The team is not discouraged by its previous loss to the Falcons. Carleton feels that, if his squad can match the level of play that it has displayed throughout the last few games, a victory is not out of reach.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” Carleton continued. “We have to come out and play hard, focused and ready to go. We know it could be our last game, so we need to put everything we have into it. If we can get our shots, it will be anyone’s game.”

In the teams’ last duel on Feb. 5, Fitchburg State finished off the Jumbos 4-1 during the two-week battle for the first place seed in ECAC Northeast. Although the Jumbos outshot the Falcons 30-23, the squad had trouble finding the net.

“It was our worst league loss,” Carlton said. “The score is misleading, because it was a really close game.”

Feeley is confident that the team will pull together to clinch a championship berth Wednesday night.

“Everyone just has to play in top form,” Feeley said. “If we can capitalize on our chances and play tight defense, we should be fine.”