This season has not been easy for the hockey team. Injuries and close losses have defined the season. But this past weekend, the Jumbos ended a 12-game losing streak to pick up their first home victory of 2014.
On Saturday, Tufts hosted Colby, the only NESCAC team it had defeated earlier this season, and lost 4-1. The next day, in the final game of the season, Tufts defeated Bowdoin 4-3 in a back-and-forth game to end the year on a high note. Since they failed to qualify for the NESCAC playoffs, the Jumbos end their season with an overall record of 4-19-1 and a conference record of 2-15-1.
Before Tufts took on Bowdoin, the team honored its eight seniors in the final game of their careers. For two of its seniors, it was an especially bittersweet moment. Co-captain Cody Armstrong, who sat out the entire season after suffering from multiple concussions, and goalie Brian Phillips, who played five minutes this season before he was sidelined with a lower leg injury, joined their classmates on the ice one final time.
"They have stuck around and bought into the team," senior Kyle Gallegos said of Armstrong and Phillips. "They have been at every single team event, and it has been great being their teammate these past four years."
Despite the pre-game emotion, Tufts fell behind just 35 seconds into the game when Bowdoin freshman Mitch Barrington skated around Tufts' defense before firing a wrist shot past senior goalie Greg Jenkins. The Jumbos responded six minutes later when junior Tyler Voigt's shot slipped under senior Steve Messina's pads. Gallegos, the team's leading scorer, tapped in the rebound to tie the game 1-1.
Though the game was tied at the end of the first period, the Polar Bears looked to be in complete control. They outshot the Jumbos 22-10, but as he has done most of the season, Jenkins kept the score close with 21 saves in the first frame.
Six minutes into the second period, both teams were hit with penalties. Bowdoin took advantage of the open ice when Barrington's cross-ice pass found senior Kyle Lockwood. Lockwood one-timed a slapshot past Jenkins to give Bowdoin a 2-1 lead.
A minute later, the Jumbos evened the score at 2-2 when senior Tim Mitropoulos found freshman Patrick Lackey in front of the net.
The game got more physical after the nine-minute mark when Bowdoin senior co-captain Jay Livermore got whistled for taunting. Gallegos, Tufts' leader in penalties and penalty minutes, responded by one-upping Livermore, earning penalties for roughing and hitting after the whistle. Later in the period, Gallegos pulled off the rare feat of being called for three penalties in one period after being whistled for cross-checking.
The back-and-forth affair continued into the final period. Bowdoin junior John McGinnis gave the Polar Bears a 3-2 lead when he carried the puck into the offensive zone, weaved around defenders and unleashed a wrist shot for an unassisted goal.
Once again, the Jumbos responded quickly. Sophomore Stewart Bell picked off a Bowdoin clearing attempt and took a shot at the net. Mitropoulos blocked the puck, but sophomore Brian Ouellette sent the rebound through to tie the game 3-3.
With less than six minutes remaining in regulation, the Jumbos took their first lead of the game. Jenkins stopped Bowdoin's three-on-two breakaway, and the puck took a home-team bounce toward freshman Matt Pugh. Pugh unleashed a long pass to Bell, who sent a shot past Messina's five-hole to give Tufts a 4-3 lead that held up despite a late offensive charge by Bowdoin.
The final goal was a rare break for head coach Brian Murphy's squad after a season filled with tight losses.
"This year it felt like the hockey gods were out to get us," Murphy said. "But the guys did their work on and off the ice, and to end the season with a win against a good team was a great way to finish."
Gallegos shared Murphy's view that the win reflected the team's talent more than its record did.
"We really didn't do a lot of things differently," Gallegos said. "We just finally caught a couple of bounces that went our way."
Saturday's loss to Colby, however, told a more familiar story.
Colby senior Ben Chwick opened up the scoring with the lone goal of the first period, a simple tap-in after some textbook passing from his teammates. The Jumbos responded early in the second period, when sophomore Luke Griffin forced a neutral zone turnover. Griffin hit freshman Conal Lynch with a pass, who in turn fired a wrist shot that found the net.
From there, it was all Mules. The Jumbos had no answer for Chwick, who added two assists and a penalty shot goal en route to a four-point performance. Despite constant pressure and playing the last two minutes with an extra skater, the Jumbos failed to score, falling 4-1.
With the season over, the Jumbos now face an offseason of necessary growth following a rough season.
"It's going to take a lot of work," Murphy said. "We do play a lot of freshmen, and the young guys were not as consistent as we would have liked, but they had stretches that were really impressive and showed their talent. We are not in this league to finish last."
