Loud offensive performances in a pair of games against Connecticut College last weekend propelled Tufts men’s ice hockey to fifth place in the NESCAC and the privilege of a playoff game on home ice. The Jumbos opened the weekend on the road, traveling to New London, Conn., where they slammed into a brick wall in Camels’ junior goalie Will McEvoy. Despite notching 41 shots on goal to the Camels’s 24, the Jumbos couldn’t manage to sneak one into the back of the net, and a singular power play goal by Connecticut College in the first period held up as the game-winner. The second and third periods ticked down without a score from either squad, and the 1–0 Camels win marked the first career shutout for McEvoy.
The Jumbos’ inability to cash in on any of their five power play opportunities haunted them in the loss. They only sent shots on goal during two of the five-man advantages, and McEvoy stuffed the chances each time.
“We had a ton of shots. I think we nearly doubled their shots, but they weren’t necessarily great grade-A opportunities, and that obviously showed on the scoreboard,” said senior forward Brennan Horn.
With a turnaround time of less than 24 hours before facing Connecticut College again back in Medford, Tufts focused on sticking to its brand of hockey and continuing to control the offensive opportunities for the full 60 minutes.
“We wanted to keep playing our game. We dominated the game Friday, although we ended up losing, we were happy with how we played the offensive and defensive sides,” Horn said. “The thing was just trying to focus on getting more grade-A opportunities in the O-zone, not passing up on shots, and getting things to the net.”
The scoreboard did reflect the Jumbos’ offensive power in the second game of the weekend, with Tufts shutting down Connecticut College 4–0 on goals from Horn, fellow senior forward Harrison Bazianos, sophomore forward Marcus Sang and junior forward Brendan Fennell. Junior goalie Gus Bylin stepped up in a big way as well, earning his second shutout of the season.
The Saturday matchup saw a period and a half of scoreless play until Horn pulled off a wraparound goal to put the Jumbos up 1–0 over halfway through the second period. That score held going into the third, but after the final intermission, Tufts burst onto the ice in the closing frame, scoring again on a Bazianos shot barely a minute into the action. Sang put the game away with under seven minutes left to play, finding the back of the net off of the rebound from a one-timer attempt by Bazianos, and Fennell added an empty-netter as the icing on the cake as the clock ticked down.
Horn explained that the messaging to the team after the scoreless first frame was simple but effective: “Just stay at what we had been doing the past period and the past three before on Friday, we knew that something would give.”
Ahead of the victory, the Tufts offensive lines got a shuffle, with new groups of forwards playing together in an effort to beat McEvoy. The trio of Bazianos, Horn and Sang emerged as the top line, and each of them scored and assisted in the win.
“We did expect a little bit of a change up, and fortunately, it worked out,” Horn explained. He described the dynamic of skating alongside Sang and Bazianos and the scoring chances they create together.
“I’ve played with Harrison [Bazianos] all throughout the four years we’ve been here together, and we’ve clicked and had great chemistry, so I love playing with him,” he said. “Anytime you get to play with Sanger too, it’s easy to play away from the puck. He’s such a big body, it’s almost like playing with a linebacker out there, so they make my job easier.”
In addition to the chemistry with his linemates, Horn commended Bylin’s performance in net and the offensive freedom he feels as a forward during a strong goalie outing.
“I don’t even know if there’s enough good things to say about how [Bylin’s] played so far,” he said. “The past three, four weekends, we’ve been splitting a lot, and we owe him more wins than what we had these past few weekends, but it definitely gives you a ton of confidence knowing that you’ve got a stud goalie back there who’s going to bail you out when you need it.”
Tufts faces road rematches with Amherst and Hamilton in the coming week. Tufts looks to build on their previous decisive 5–2 victory against Amherst back on Jan. 18 and hope for some revenge against No. 9 Hamilton after falling to them 6–1 on Jan. 17.
“We’ll definitely look back at the games we played against Amherst and Hamilton a few weeks back, see some things that worked in our favor, work on the things that obviously we didn’t execute as well,” Horn said. “And then take what we found successful from this past weekend into next weekend and mold it all into one and hopefully come out with a sweep.”
