Tufts proves ice hockey program is on the upswing

In the final 13 games of Tufts’ 2013-14 season, the team went 1-11-1, including a 10-game losing streak. The Jumbos lost a talented group of seniors and would only have inexperienced goalies on the roster for the 2014-15 season. Yet, by the end of the year, Tufts was two goals away from reaching the finals of the NESCAC Playoffs.

This season began the same way that the last one ended. The Jumbos were victorious in just one of their first six games. Tufts’ goalie play, however, was constantly improving, as was its team chemistry.

The team ended up winning its final three games of 2014 against Castleton, Colby and Bowdoin, giving it a respectable 4-4-1 record entering the new year. 2015 began with the Jumbos facing three very tough non-conference opponents, followed by two critical NESCAC bouts. The team dropped four out of those five games and fell behind the rest of the pack in the standings.

The leadership from senior tri-captains Andrew White and Blake Edwards, along with junior tri-captain Stewart Bell, was crucial to Tufts’ quick turnaround. Along with several other upperclassmen, these three kept the team’s spirits up and constantly saw the potential of the its young lineup.

The Jumbos won two of their final four games in the month of January, giving the team a reasonable shot at playing in the NESCAC tournament after missing out the past two seasons.

Tufts’ see-saw season continued as the 7-10-1 squad went winless in its next four games, all of which were against conference foes, but a win over NESCAC rival Colby helped secure the eighth-seed in the tournament for this enigmatic Tufts team.

The Jumbos opened up the conference quarterfinals against the top seeded Trinity Bantams. This Feb. 28 fight wound up being the game of the year for not just Tufts, but possibly the entire NESCAC. While the win would help the NESCAC earn two bids to the NCAA Tournament (Trinity picked up an at-large bid to join NESCAC Champion Amherst), it also helped the conference's anyone-can-beat-anyone reputation.

Playing for their season, the Jumbos shocked the home crowd by defeating the previously 21-2-1 Bantams in a 2-1 thriller.

“I have no doubt that we can beat any team in the conference,” junior defenseman Dominic Granato told the Daily in an email. “Our team goal, from the beginning of the year, was always [to win] a NESCAC championship. We believe, and have believed all year, that we can. Not many people gave us any chance against Trinity, but knocking off the top team in the NESCAC, who was ranked second in the nation, reaffirms that we can beat anyone. It took a whole team effort, every player battling for every other teammate for the whole 60 minutes.”

Tufts finished its season just one goal short of going to overtime against the second-seeded Amherst Lord Jeffs. While the team fell 3-2 in its first-ever semifinal appearance, Tufts has the potential to be one of the best teams in the conference entering the 2015-16 season.

“We are just focusing on playing better hockey, knowing the goals will follow,” junior forward Keith Campbell told the Daily in an email. “Our team can beat any other team in the conference, period. Again, this [tournament experience] should give us confidence, but we need to know that nothing will be handed to us.”

Individually speaking, the goalie play from sophomore Mason Pulde was a huge factor in all of Tufts’ success, especially down the stretch. He had a .914 save percentage and earned seven of the team’s wins, including his masterful performance over Trinity in the NESCAC quarterfinals.

First-year forward Brian Brown led the team in goals and points scored (13 and 23, respectively), while senior forward Tyler Voigt led the squad in assists (11). Sophomore forward Matt Pugh had numerous key performances for the Jumbos, as did his classmates, defenseman Sean Kavanagh and forward Conal Lynch.

For the 2015-16 season, Tufts will lose a lot of talent and leadership as seniors Edwards, White, Shawn Power, Bill Sellers, George Pantazopoulos and Voigt will all be graduating, but with a plethora of underclassman talent, this team seems poised to make a deep run in next year’s NESCAC tournament.