Teams: Ice Hockey: Team Overview

►Barchard, Derosa up for Concannon award
►Read about goalie Scott Barchard in Tufts Journal
►Read about goalie Scott Barchard in the Boston Globe
►NESCAC Player of the Week award goes to Barchard
►Read about Jumbos on US College Hockey Online
►Jumbos win Rutland Herald Invitational

Coming off its best season since 2004-05 and stocked with plenty of young talent, the Tufts University Hockey team looks to make a move up in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) this season.

Among the 11 victories posted by Coach Brian Murphy's Jumbos last season were impressive league wins over traditionally strong teams from Saint Anselm, New England College, Norwich, Bowdoin, Salem State and Babson. The Norwich victory was the first for the Jumbos against the Cadets since Tufts joined the NESCAC/ECAC East League in 2001. The Cadets were ranked #12 in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll at the time and are two-time national champions and seven-time NCAA Div. III Frozen Four participants. Norwich drew over 1,000 fans to Kreitzberg Arena for the game.

Tom Derosa, last year's leading scorer, was a semi-finalist for the Concannon Award, which is presented annually by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston to the best American-born college hockey player in New England playing at the Division II-III level. He was also named to the prestigious New England Hockey Writers' team after scoring better than a point per game (15-13-28 in 25 games). Goalie Scott Barchard broke the program's record for saves in a season as a freshman with 862 and finished the year with a 2.94 goals against average and .927 save percentage. Both players are back to lead the Jumbos in 2009-10.

Also last season, Tufts opened its new locker room at Valley Forum II in nearby Malden. Dedicated to alumnus Ben Sands, who led the fund-raising drive for the project, the room includes 30 oak stalls, showers and plasma televisions for video work, among other accoutrements. The team has sole access to it year-round.

As members of the NESCAC, the Tufts University Hockey team plays in the nation's most competitive small college conference academically and athletically. Entering their ninth season in the league, the Jumbos play league games against teams such as eight-time national champion Middlebury College and 2009 #4 nationally ranked Amherst College. The Tufts schedule also includes league contests against the members of the strong ECAC East Division. Tufts traditionally plays in a tournament or two during the season, and in December 2007 they took a mid-season European tour to France and Switzerland.

Murphy has built up the Tufts program with recruiting classes that span nationwide, but focus on local players from Greater Boston. Located right outside of Boston, Tufts offers a well-rounded collegiate experience to student-athletes. Within its picturesque small-college campus, Tufts is a major university with "an unprecedented diversity of programs, exceptional faculty and staff, and bright and talented students," according to President Lawrence S. Bacow. The Athletics Department sponsors a varsity program of 28 sports that is among the most competitive in the NCAA's Division III. Tufts finished 10th in the 2009 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, which awards points based on NCAA performances. The University's proximity to a world-class city renowned for its academic institutions is also a major draw.

Several Tufts players have continued their careers professionally in Europe. Matt McCarthy graduated in 2006 as the most honored Tufts player of the NESCAC era. He was named to the All-NESCAC team and was also selected to the prestigious New England Hockey Writers' Team after finishing fifth in the conference scoring race with 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points in 22 games. He continued his hockey career in Germany as the first Jumbo to play overseas and played in Amsterdam last year. Defenseman and 2008 graduate Joe Cappellano played overseas in Germany last year.

Murphy is entering his 11th season coaching the team. An all-star defenseman for the Jumbos in 1995, and an assistant coach on the team for three seasons, Murphy has deep roots with the program. He was captain of the 1994-95 team that won 11 straight games and was one of the best in Tufts history. Murphy is now the program's all-time leader in coaching victories with 108. The program presented him with the 100th victory of his career last season against New England College. In addition to McCarthy, he has recruited 100-point scorers Drew Carleton, Natan Obed, Mike Carceo and Jason Boudrow to Tufts. Dan Mahoney, one of the best defensemen in Tufts history, is also a Murphy recruit.

Norwich graduate John Burgess, previously an assistant at Curry College, is in his fourth season as Murphy's top assistant and recruiting coordinator. A goalie at Norwich, he has coached at the high school, junior and college levels for the last 15 years. Trainer Nick Mitropoulos, who was Head Coach of the Jumbos from 1991-93, will also serve in a coaching capacity along with his sports medicine duties.

The Tufts program is equally committed to the success of its student-athletes academically and to their involvement in the community. The NESCAC is a group of highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities that share an academics-first philosophy for intercollegiate athletics. Four Jumbos were named to the NESCAC All-Academic Team last season. Every Christmas, the team makes a generous contribution to the Toys for Tots program on campus. The team also runs the annual Jumbo Hockey Clinic for youths aged 8-16.