For Tufts men’s ice hockey, last weekend was make-or-break in terms of their playoff positioning. In a conference position, where one or two wins could make or break playoff chances and positions, the Jumbos had to put up a fight to keep the best NESCAC seed they could. With two home games to finish out their season, Tufts was able to finish their season strong.
“Going into the weekend, we knew that we were kind of in control of our own destiny in terms of making the playoffs and what seed we were going to be,” senior forward Tyler Sedlak said.
The weekend started with an overtime loss to Colby on Friday. Though Tufts outshot Colby, and the defense and goaltending were strong, Tufts couldn’t convert on their chances to beat Colby. The game didn’t start quickly for the Jumbos, with the Mules scoring in the first period. On a power play in the second period, sophomore forward Jon Horn scored off of a pass from junior forward Max Resnick, bringing the score to 1–1.
The teams were tied up going into the third period, but 11 minutes in, Colby scored again, bringing the score to 2–1. The Jumbos weren’t able to score again until the final minutes of the game when they pulled junior goalie Gustave Bylin from the net to play six men on five. Jon Horn scored his second goal of the game off of another pass from Resnick to force the game into overtime. The Jumbos fought for three minutes of overtime before the Mules scored to end the game at 3–2.
On Saturday, the team’s mentality changed to have one of their strongest games of the season, beating Bowdoin 5–0.
“It was a must-win for us, with a lot of things going our way. It was Senior Night, and it was super emotional. Obviously, those seven [seniors] have done a lot for us. We were getting to the point where we had to set the tone for the playoffs.” Resnick said. “We just played as hard as we could and played for each other.”
Seniors Harrison Bazianos, Brennan Horn, Spencer Rose, Tyler Sedlak, Clark Bolin, Sami Hakkarainen and Marek Pechr were acknowledged for Senior Night. Sedlak explained that the Jumbos were even more motivated than usual to win their last game of the regular season.
“We knew that if we were to win Saturday, now we would shoot up to the sixth seed. It was Senior Night, and we had a really good crowd.” Sedlak said. “It was an extremely motivating game to play in, and we had everything to play for.”
Last weekend was important for the Tufts power play, which hasn’t been effective this season until Tufts scored three goals on the power play against Bowdoin and Colby. Resnick started off scoring in the first period, just 15 seconds into the game, on the power play against Bowdoin.
“It was a nice pass from Brendan [Fenell], so I just had to shoot it; I didn’t have to do much,” Resnick said. “It was a great feeling, and it got us going.”
The second goal for the Jumbos came from first-year forward Rory Andriole. The third was another power-play goal from senior forward Brennan Horn after sophomore forward Marcus Sang sent him a pass from behind the goal line. To cement their lead and finish out scoring for the second period, junior forward Cole Dubicki scored off a rebound. The Tufts lead continued into the third period, when Sedlak sent a shot in to gain a 5–0 lead. The Jumbos couldn’t have asked for a better game to finalize their regular season.
“I think that we had scoring from top to bottom. Every line contributed in some way, shape or form, which is extremely important.” Sedlak said.
The game was a shutout for Bylin, who has been impressive between the pipes for the Jumbos down their final stretch of the regular season, and senior goalie Spencer Rose, who was being recognized for Senior Night.
“It was awesome to see Rose get in the net for the last few minutes of the game. He works so hard and hasn’t had the opportunity to play much, but he’s everyone's favorite teammate, and to see him get that moment was special for everyone.” Sedlak said.
Playing a strong defensive game, especially in the third period, was key to limiting Bowdoin’s chances and keeping the shutout.
“I think guys took pride in playing a 200-foot game by playing defensively,” Sedlak said. “Friday, we had a few mishaps that cost us, and Saturday, it felt like [Bowdoin] didn’t have many chances at all.”
As the regular season ends, the Jumbos will move their attention to the NESCAC tournament. The Jumbos will play the Polar Bears again at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the NESCAC quarterfinal.
“Now, all focus has turned towards Saturday,” Sedlak said. “It’s like a new season. Nothing that already happened really matters because at this point, you can’t lose another game.”
The Jumbos will have to focus on what they do well and work to reduce chances for their opponent, just as they did Saturday against the Polar Bears.
“When we play the right way through the neutral zone, especially on the back check, we can suffocate teams,” Norwell said. “So that'll be one of our biggest focuses —making sure we're playing well positionally.”
As the fifth seed in the NESCAC, the Jumbos missed the chance to host a playoff game at home, as the top four teams host the quarterfinals. Sedlak explained that he’s excited to play against Bowdoin at their home rink, and the team is looking forward to the energy and excitement of the playoffs.
“We like playing on the road, we’ve embraced that,” Sedlak said. “It's a nice rink, [with] big crowds. I think our team does well with that. We're going to try to take some of that energy and turn it into our own and hopefully ruin the night for those fans.”
See more photos from the game here.
