Tonight, at 7:30 p.m. the hockey team will square off against the Fitchburg State Falcons in its first ECAC Northeast semi-final appearance since the 1988-89 campaign. The third-seeded Jumbos will take to the ice in an attempt to redeem themselves against the second-slotted Falcons, after a suffering 4-1 beating from them three weeks ago. Fitchburg brings a 17-5-4 overall record into the game (13-2-2 in the ECAC), as well as the 1999 ECAC Northeast Championship title.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” senior captain Drew Carleton said. “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.”

In the teams’ last meeting, on Feb. 5 at Boston College’s Conte Forum, Fitchburg State scored three unanswered goals, including two in the final period, on its way to a decisive 4-1 victory. Although the Jumbos out shot the Falcons 30-23, the squad had trouble finding the net after its first period tally.

In the loss, senior assistant captain Scott Sullivan evened the score at 12:48 in the first period of play on an assist from junior assistant captain Dan Mahoney and freshman Mike Carceo. Just two and half minutes later, though, the Falcons regained the lead, as senior forward and leading scorer Jeff DuRoss tallied his second of the game. The Jumbos were unable to regain their composure, however, and gave up two more goals in the third after a scoreless second stanza.

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

Tufts dominated the puck for the majority of the second period, but Falcon goaltender Nick Gangemi refused to budge, making 12 saves in the middle frame alone. For the game, Gangemi topped the Jumbo’s Ian Kell’s 19 stops with 30 of his own.

“It was really frustrating for us,” Carleton said. “It was a discouraging second period, and sort of a letdown. I think that many of the guys let it get to them.”

Since that game, however, the Jumbos have certainly picked up their level of play. The team has gone 4-4-1 against tough competition after the frustrating loss, en route to a 13-9-1 overall record (9-3-1 in the ECAC). Last Saturday, the hard work paid off, as coach Brian Murphy’s squad won its first playoff game since 1988, topping Johnson and Wales in impressive fashion, 7-4.

“I think we’ve definitely gotten much sharper since the last time we played Fitchburg,” sophomore forward Jordan Karp said. “Our practices have been much better and, as a team, we’re much more focused.”

Even so, the Brown and Blue will certainly have their work cut out for them against a potent Fitchburg attack that features five players with 30 or more points. Overall, the squad has outscored its opponents by a convincing 121-72 margin, including an 88-41 differential in league games. DuRoss leads the team scoring list with 48 points (22-26), followed by sophomore forward Jeff Brodeur (18-27-45) and junior forward Gary Stone (11-28-39).

The Falcons’ top blue-liners are sophomore Brian Baldassare (2-13-15) and senior Rob Hunt (3-9-12), who will be faced, along with senior netminder Gangemi, with the difficult task of shutting down potential Jumbo scorers. Gangemi boasts a 16-5-4 overall record, to go along with his 2.74 goals against average and .903 save percentage.

Red hot Carleton and Sullivan are currently tied for the Tufts scoring lead with 39 points each. Carleton (27-12) has scored at least one goal in each of his team’s last eight games, while Sullivan (17-22) has netted seven power play goals to date. Two talented freshmen, Carceo (10-21-31) and Rob LaQuaglia (12-13-25) are also offensive threats, along with junior Natan Obed (8-10-18) and Karp (4-7-11).

Mahoney and senior Pete Schieffelin will anchor the Tufts defense, along with sophomore Chad Pessini, junior Justin Picone, and senior Rich Carviello. Sophomore Kell will be in the crease, with a 12-7-1 record, 3.50 goals against average, .880 save percentage, and two shutouts to his credit.

“If we can get our shots, it will be anyone’s game,” Carleton said.

Senior forward Tom Feeley echoed his teammate’s sentiments.

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