MEDFORD, MA (November 15, 2023) – The Tufts University hockey team will look to pick up the momentum it built late last season as the puck drops on their 2023-24 campaign this weekend.
Tufts finished last year as the hottest team in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), winning four straight games in the last two weekends of the regular-season. The six-seeded Jumbos then lost 3-2 in overtime at three-seed Amherst College in the conference quarterfinals.
Most of last year's team is back, and the 2023-24 roster features 10 seniors and seven juniors. Head coach
Pat Norton's Jumbos will have that veteran presence to go with a strong sophomore class which made an impact as freshmen last season. Five newcomers also round out the roster.
"Our overall depth is as good as it has been since I've been here," said Coach Norton, who starts his ninth year at Tufts. "We have a lot of different options. Trying to create a line-up every day is going to be difficult."
The Jumbos were fourth in NESCAC last year scoring 2.72 goals per game. Of the 68 goals they scored last year, 61 were tallied by players who return this season. Only captain
Mason Kohn was lost as a key offensive contributor.
The defense is the most experienced unit on the team with five seniors, including the return of senior
Jacob Iida from an injury last season. They project to be stronger than last year when Tufts gave up 2.92 goals per game to rank eighth in the NESCAC.
The goaltending tandem of senior
Peyton Durand and sophomore Gus Bylin have both shown the ability to get the job done in the NESCAC.
The older line-up could help Tufts get started against an always-challenging early schedule. The Jumbos start the season at home against a Trinity College team receiving votes in the US College Hockey Online national poll and a Wesleyan University squad that was the #1 team for the NESCAC regular-season last year. The first non-league game is next Tuesday against a Babson College team that has already defeated #1 in the nation and defending NCAA champion Hobart College.
Coach Norton and his staff have also added five freshmen whom they believe can challenge to play this season.
A more effective power-play, taking fewer penalties (Tufts led NESCAC with 114 penalties last year) and better puck management are the main areas Coach Norton would like to see the team improve upon this season.
It's been 11 years since Tufts last hosted a NESCAC Tournament game in 2012. Though that's a primary goal for the 2023-24 Jumbos, they know they have the talent to challenge for their first conference title no matter where they finish in the top eight.
"The seventh-place team won our league last year," Norton said. "The eighth-place team played in the championship game. It just goes to show you how crazy the league is. Once you get into the dance, anybody can win it. We are as capable as anybody of doing it."
Here's a closer took at the Jumbos by position:
FORWARD: The Jumbos have a ton of potential up front, led by juniors
Harrison Bazianos,
Brennan Horn and
Tyler Sedlak and sophomores
Max Resnick,
Brendan Fennell and
Cole Dubicki.
Bazianos scored nine goals as a sophomore last year, just outside of the top 10 in the league. Horn's 12 assists tied for the team lead and the speedy Sedlak has recorded 6-9-15 numbers in both of his collegiate seasons.
With seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points last year, Reznick led Tufts' forwards in scoring as a freshman. Fennell had a strong second half last year and finished with seven goals. Dubicki assisted on 11 goals a year ago.
Seniors
Joel Brandinger and
Aidan Lovett along with sophomores
Liam O'Hare and
John Mulvihill made offensive contributions and add nicely to the team's depth beyond the top two lines.
The offensive depth also includes senior
Fisher Shea, and juniors
Clark Bolin,
Sami Hakkarainen and
Marek Pechr. All had points last season. The freshman class adds forwards
Mason Daignault,
Trace Norwell and
Marcus Sang.
Coach Norton and his staff would like to see the power-play improve after Tufts ranked eighth in the league last year.
"We got away from focusing on the process," Norton said. "If you're getting shots and you're doing a lot of good, positive things – puck control, retrievals, zone entry – then you're going to score goals. Sometimes you don't score goals as easily as you'd like to, but you have to stick with what you're doing if it's working."
DEFENSE: A veteran group on defense is led by seniors
Sam Miller,
Cam Newton,
Jack Hughes,
Andrew Gunlock and Iida. Sophomore
Chris Throndson returns after a solid freshman campaign and the staff is high on freshman
Sylas Oberting.
Miller is one of the top offensive defensemen in the league, leading the Jumbos with 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists last season. His three power-play goals also led the Jumbos.
Newton (6-8-14 in 48 career games), Hughes and Gunlock have also logged over 40 games played in their two previous seasons. Iida scored three times in his first season as a sophomore in 2021-22. With that core and the young talent of Throndson and Oberting, the Jumbos' toughness and first-pass efficiency should be significantly improved.
Sophomore
Philippe Lamarre and freshman
Alex Rossides increase the team's blue-line depth.
"I really like our defensive crew," Norton said. "In general our defense from the goalie out needs to be more consistent than last year. I think Iida back really makes a difference in terms of solidifying the top six."
GOALIE: The Jumbos had five shutouts last season, with Durand recording three and Bylin two. Coach Norton and his staff plan to give both goalies opportunities early in the season to let the playing time figure itself out. Both players earned NESCAC Player of the Week honors last year. In December Bylin had 29 saves as the Jumbos handed Colby its first loss of the season 3-1, then he stopped 38 shots in a 2-2 tie at Bowdoin. Durand made 41 saves in a 2-0 shutout win at Amherst and stopped 37 shots for a 2-1 victory at Hamilton in February.
Senior
Ryan Welch and junior
Spencer Rose have been in the program for a few years and provide experience in a back-up role.
--JUMBOS--
