Jan. 5, 2007

BABSON PARK, Mass. - The Babson College men's ice hockey team erupted for nine goals in the first two periods, including six in the second frame, on its way to a convincing 10-2 victory over visiting Amherst College in an ECAC East/NESCAC matchup on Friday night. With the win, the Beavers improved to 6-4-0 overall and 4-2-0 in the ECAC East, while the Lord Jeffs, ranked 14th in the nation by U.S. College Hockey Online, fell to 6-2-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the NESCAC.

Babson dominated play from the opening face off, outscoring the visitors 3-0 in the opening period while holding a 19-9 shot advantage. First-year Jason Schneider (Littleton, Mass.) put the Beavers on the board with a goal at 5:24, sophomore Alex DiPietro (Winthrop, Mass.) added the second at 10:38, and rookie Gabriel Chenard-Poirier (St. Augustin, Quebec) tacked on the third at 14:10.

After first-year Casey Fazekas (Montreal, Quebec) made it 4-0 with a goal just 22 seconds into the second period, Amherst senior Sean Ellis (Springfield, Mass.) put the Lord Jeffs on the board with a score at 3:44, cutting Babson's lead to 4-1. However, the Beavers would put the contest out of reach during the final seven minutes of the period, scoring five unanswered goals to go up 9-1 heading into the second intermission. First-year Shane Farrell (West Warwick, R.I.) and junior captain John Geverd (Hookset, N.H.) scored the first two on powerplays at 13:38 and 15:19, and sophomore Pat McLaughlin (Berlin, Mass.) followed with an even-strength goal at 17:05. Farrell then scored his second of the night at 18:36 and junior Matt Baron (Dewitt, N.Y.) netted his first career goal at 19:28 to cap off the 5-0 run.

Sophomore Rylan Burns (Mill Bay, British Columbia) scored Amherst's second goal at 15:52 of the third period, but Farrell completed his first career hat trick with a goal at 18:27 to finish off the 10-2 win. The Beavers outshot the Lord Jeffs 15-7 in the second and 20-5 in the third for an overall 54-21 shot advantage. Senior Josh Fillman (Charlestown, Mass.) and sophomore A.J. Scola (Holden, Mass.) each finished with 22 saves while splitting time in net for Amherst. For Babson, sophomore Skylar Nipps (Orlando, Fla.) stopped 16 of 17 shots before giving way to senior Greg Boxer (Bedminster, N.J.), who turned away three shots in the final 10 minutes.