After 0–5 start, hockey moves into 2nd half of season at 4–8

With a slow start to the 2019–20 season, the 4–8 Jumbos are starting to settle into their skates moving into 2020 play. In their first five games, the Jumbos lost by close margins to some of their toughest conference competitors. As November progressed, the team began finding a way to work better together, securing its first 2–1 win against SUNY Buffalo State College at the Skidmore Thanksgiving Invitational. The team has seen significant improvement to date. 

“The majority of teams we have played so far have been ranked at some point this year — we play a very competitive schedule,” junior forward Charley Borek said. "I think it took us a few games to find what works for us as a team in order to match up against these tough competitors, but we’re adjusting and improving.”

In their most recent game on Jan. 10, the Jumbos lost to the Endicott College Eagles 4–2 in a well fought battle at Valley Forum, Tufts' home ice-rink in Malden, Mass.Just under four minutes into play, senior defenseman Cory Gottfried gave Tufts an early lead with his second goal of the season off of a pass from junior defenseman Michael Gordon. The Eagles responded with a goal from first-year forward Campbell Balk to even the score at 1–1 in the opening period.

The Jumbos remained on the attack, taking back their advantage just over one minute into the second period. Senior defenseman Jordan Haney drove down middle ice and passed the puck off to sophomore forward Brendan Skarda. Skarda flicked it back to Haney in front of the goal, allowing him to score his second of the season. However, the Eagles scored the equalizer less than two minutes later with a goal from first-year forward Zach Mazur. Borek and senior forward Ross Delabruere had a close two-on-one opportunity for the Jumbos halfway through the second, along with a shot that hit the pipe by Skarda, but sophomore goalkeeper Conor O’Brienheld it down for the Eagles. The game moved into the third period tied at 2–2.

Both teams came out with aggression in the third, trading shots for the first half of the period. Ten minutes in, the Eagles took the lead with a goal from senior forward James Winkler.In response to Winkler's goal, the Jumbos removed junior goalkeeper Drew Hotte with 1:26 remaining in regulation. Despite a close shot by sophomore forward Cal LeClair, the Eagles capitalized on the empty-net opportunity and secured their 4–2 win with a goal from graduate student forward Luke Rodgers.

Two weeks earlier, Tufts hockey traveled in the frozen forests of northern Wisconsin and competed in the two-day Superior Showdown, playing against University of Wisconsin-Superior and Bethel University (Minn.). Tufts fell to Wisconsin-Superior in a close 2–1 loss on Dec. 28, despite Hotte’s impressive 35 saves. Tufts took on Bethel in the consolation match the following day, emerging victorious 5–2.Gottfried, Skarda, Borek, senior forward Blake McIntyre and sophomore forward Justin Brandt each tallied a goal.

Earlier in December, Tufts had a successful weekend on the road, competing at Colby and Bowdoin. The Jumbos secured their first shut out of the season against the Mules with a 2–0 victory. Brandt tallied his third goal of the season, along with an empty-netter from Haney. Hotte also put on another impressive performance with 34 saves. Tufts, moving into the Bowdoin game with momentum, came out on top of a nail-biting game with a 5–4 win. Sophomore forward Angus Scott tallied two goals, hitting the scoreboard for the first time this season, while sophomore forward Nick Schultze and senior forward Machlan Sawden also put up their firsts of the season. Gordon secured the win with his goal late in the third. Sophomore goalkeeper Josh Sarlomade 36 saves against the Polar Bears in his second win of the season, ending the Jumbos' weekend with a NESCAC sweep.

“Both of our goalies are playing very well,” junior forward Mason Babbige said. “They’ve definitely held their own when we’ve needed it and come up with big saves.”

Before that, on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, Tufts traveled to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to compete in the Skidmore Thanksgiving Invitational. The team secured its breakthrough first win against Buffalo State on Saturday, ending their five-game losing streak. Senior forward Anthony Farinacci got to work early in the first, barreling the puck into the net just 54 seconds into regulation. With the tone set at a 1–0 early advantage, the Jumbos maintained aggression, expanding their margin to 2–0 with a shot from junior forward Edward Hannon about halfway through the first period. The Bengals retaliated with one goal in the second period, but could not pull off a comeback.

The following day the Jumbos took on the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds, falling 4–2. Hannon scored his first two goals in the tournament, and first-year forward Alex Lycett put one in the back of the net off a power play opportunity for the Jumbos. 

In their opening five games, Tufts took a hit with a 0–5 record while first competing away at Wesleyan and Trinity, and then at home against Middlebury, Williams and Babson College. According to Borek, the team is now more confident in their play moving forward.

“Opening up the season, we implemented some new systems, and I think there was an adjustment period,” Borek said. “But I think we played much better our last seven or so games, and we’re definitely improving as a team. We had three games in a row that were 2–1, and some of those games we arguably should’ve won. When we started to win, it was a culmination of everything coming together. We started to get some more pucks in deep and find more confidence in our game.” 

Tufts will take on Hamilton next on home ice at the Valley Forum. The conference matchup is slated to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“In the past, [Hamilton] has had a very good team, but we feel confident moving into Friday’s game,” Farinacci said. “We’ve been working very hard on and off the ice — on our game and on our team dynamic. We’ve been doing a lot of push-ups and frequently listening to ‘All Star’ by Smash Mouth (1999) to stay in the zone."