It has been exactly four years to the day since the ice hockey team last played in the NESCAC Tournament. That will all change this Saturday when the Jumbos take on top-seeded Amherst, finally making it back to the playoffs after what could turn into the first of many successful seasons for the Jumbos.
After a decidedly streaky season, Tufts finally clinched the last remaining spot in the NESCAC Tournament last weekend with a 4-2 win over UMass Boston. With a 3-2 overtime win the next day at Babson, the Jumbos improved to 11-11-2 on the season and 3-0-1 in their last four games, establishing their first win streak since a five-game run that ended in early January. They picked the perfect time to get hot, as their first-round opponent will be nothing short of formidable.
As the top seed in the NESCAC and the nation's No. 6 team, the Amherst Lord Jeffs are a force. Amherst won 10 straight games, including a crucial 4-3 win over Middlebury last Friday to claim the conference title.
"Amherst is one of the five best teams in the country in my mind," coach Brian Murphy said. "They play the game very well, and their power play is [nearly] the best in the conference."
The power play ranks second in the NESCAC, but with a 25.6 percent success rate, the Jeffs' extra-man unit is just one-tenth of a point behind Middlebury's. Coupled with the top penalty kill unit in the league, their special teams give the Jeffs a clear statistical advantage over the Jumbos, who slot into fifth and sixth in those departments, respectively.
"We have to stay out of the penalty box because Amherst has one of the best power plays in the league," freshman goal-scoring leader Nick Resor said. "We need to focus on some defensive things, but the offense is really starting to play."
One area in which the Jumbos match up well with the Jeffs is goaltending.
Amherst's platoon of sophomores Cole Anderson and Jonathan Larose has been stellar in net, with the two topping the NESCAC ranks in save percentage with a .954 and a .946, respectively. But Tufts freshman goalie Scott Barchard is not far behind, and his .926 save percentage has earned him fourth in the league. That's not to mention his single-season record-setting 812 saves, 112 of which came in the Jumbos' two wins this past weekend.
"[Barchard] gives us a lot of confidence, and it's just so nice knowing that even if we give up 50 shots, we still have a good chance to win," Resor said.
"It's always awesome to have a great goalie," sophomore points leader Tom Derosa added. "It takes so much pressure off everyone else."
With the fourth-best scoring offense and No. 1 scoring defense in the NESCAC, the Jeffs are a serious offensive threat, so the onus to perform will fall heavily on Barchard and the Jumbos' defense.
The Jumbos will be looking to scoring leaders Resor and Derosa for an offensive burst. With 16 and 15 goals apiece, Resor and Derosa are the third- and fourth-best scorers in the league, respectively.
Fortunately for Tufts, Amherst's top offensive weapons are not as potent, and their top goal scorers, freshman Mark Colp and senior Brendan Powers, only have nine goals apiece this season. The Jeffs do, however, have one of the best defensemen in all of Div. III roaming the blue line in senior Jeff Landers. Landers has been named as a finalist for the Joe Concannon Award, which is awarded to the best American-born hockey player in Div II/III.
Despite the outstanding season that the Jeffs have had, going 18-4-1 and 16-2-1 in the NESCAC, the Jumbos are not intimidated.
"We feel like we could definitely beat them," Derosa said. "As long as we play good defense … We know our jobs and what we need to do."
"The real key will be a hard, consistent week of practice and getting everyone rested up for the playoffs," Barchard said. "Amherst is a very good team and we just have to play hard. It's just another hockey game."
Whether the odds are for or against them, the Jumbos are mentally prepared for the challenge. The team has never made it to the NESCAC semifinals, and the Jumbos haven't beaten Amherst since the 2004-05 season, but just being in the playoffs and finding themselves on a hot streak may give them all the momentum they need.
"We're picking up at the right time," junior co-captain Dave Antonelli said. "It's the playoffs, and we're excited."
"We don't need motivation at this point," Murphy said. "We're ready to go."
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