Ice hockey earns first win of the season

Last week, the Tufts ice hockey team competed in a series of non-league matches. The team played against Babson on Nov. 21 and against The State University of New York at Brockport and King’s College in the WSYB/Catamount Radio Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The team lost against both Babson and Brockport, but picked up its first win of the season against King’s College, signaling an improvement upon the team’s early season form.

Following a 5–3 loss against Brockport, Tufts went on to face King’s College in the match for third place in the WSYB/Catamount Radio Invitational. King’s College came out strong in the first period, and took an early 2–0 lead over Tufts. The Jumbos retaliated with two quick goals at 15:31 and 17:45 to bring the game to a 2–2 draw to end the first. The Jumbos’ first goal came from sophomore forward Blake McIntyre, whose shot slipped right through Monarch junior goalie Jake Tugnutt. First-year forward Mason Babbidge scored the equalizer with a wrist shot that went over Tugnutt and into the back of the net.

The Jumbos extended their lead in the second period and scored twice more to make the game 4–2. The goals came from first-year defenseman Tom Tresca and senior forward Brian Brown, who took advantage of a power play. The Monarchs nabbed a goal late into the period on a power play, ending the second 4–3.

The Jumbos dominated the third period, scoring five goals to the Monarchs' zero in the third period. First-year forward Hayden Smith, first-year forward Charley Borek, first-year forward Peter Hatton and McIntyre all contributed goals to make the score 9–3 for the Jumbos, sealing the team’s first victory of the season and earning them a third-place finish at the weekend's Invitational.

“I was really pleased with how we responded to the early adversity,” Norton said. “That easily could have gone the other way based on what we have been through this season. Going into the third we were up 4–3 and instead of sitting back playing ... to [not] lose or to hang on, we really put the foot down, and found the back of the net five more times.”

The day before, the Jumbos faced the Brockport Golden Eagles in the first round of the Invitational. Brockport took an early lead against Tufts in the first period, with two quick goals coming from sophomore forward Connor Hutchins and senior forward Zac Sikich at 10:44 and 11:13 respectively.Hutchins scored off a long-range slap shot after a pass from Sikich, who then went on to score a goal of his own.

The Golden Eagles continued to push the attack in the second period, and grabbed a third goal through a shot from junior defenseman Connar Bass. The Jumbos took a while to gain their footing, but finally earned their first goal of the game 10:25 into the second period. McIntyre took a shot that was off target, but first-year forward Andrew Hadley was there to pick up the scraps and slot in the rebound, making the game 3–1. However, Brockport then scored another goal to extend the lead even further. Thanks to first-year Peter Hatton, who slotted a low shot just past the goaltender at 17:05, the Jumbos stayed competitive going into the final period.

With fewer than three minutes to go in the game,  the Jumbos took a risk and took out their goalie for an extra advantage on attack. Brown latched onto a pass from sophomore forward Machlan Sawden and scored to make the game 4–3 at 2:11. The Jumbos’ hopes of a comeback were soon killed, however, as the Golden Eagles scored on the Jumbos’ empty net just two minutes later, ending the game 5–3.

Tufts played Babson in its home opener and lost 3–1. The Jumbos started out well defensively, and held out against three Beaver power plays all in the first period. They could not hold out for the whole period, though, as Babson struck first and scored on senior goalie Nik Nugnes in the dying minutes of the period.

Babson doubled its lead six minutes into the second period, taking advantage of yet another power play, but this time with a two-man advantage. Penalties have been an issue for the Jumbos this season, as they currently have the second highest number of penalty minutes in the NESCAC.

“I don’t think any of us have really played to our full potential yet,” Nugnes said. “We can do a better job staying out of the penalty box, and play with a little more confidence at times. But I am confident that that will come as the season rolls on.”

Tufts pulled a goal back through first-year defender Craig Uyeno, just under a minute after Babson's early second period goal. The Jumbos were held at just this single goal, as the Beavers shut them out for the remainder of the game and went on to score another goal in the third period, solidifying the 3–1 victory.

Despite a slow start to the season, there has been one constant throughout each one of the games; the first-years have contributed massively to the points tally. With only a few games of collegiate hockey under their belts, it will only be a matter of time before these first-years start to gain their footing and really start to shine.

“Despite our record, our team is moving in the right direction,” Nugnes said. “The season is a marathon, not a sprint. I think we have a very young, but very talented team. It just takes time to make the jump to the college level. Our group has a really high ceiling, and we are just trying to trust the process so that we can get better every day and peak at the right time.”

Tufts faces off against Williams on Dec. 1 and Middlebury on Dec. 2, both at home.