Nov. 24, 2007

Photo Gallery  | Box Score (Babson vs. SUNY Potsdam) | Box Score (Curry vs. Hamilton)

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Babson College junior Skylar Nipps (Orlando, Fla.) stopped all five shots he faced in the shootout and sophomore Casey Fazekas (Montreal, Quebec) converted the Beavers' final attempt to help the hosts advance past visiting SUNY Potsdam in the semifinals of the 2007 Babson Invitational Tournament presented by Irving Oil on Saturday afternoon. The contest officially ended in a 4-4 tie, with Babson (3-0-1) advancing in a shootout, 1-0. The Beavers will face Curry in Sunday's championship game at 4 p.m. after the Colonels defeated Hamilton, 3-1, in Saturday's first semifinal. SUNY Potsdam (4-3-3) will take on Hamilton in the consolation game at 1 p.m.
 
Potsdam opened the scoring early in the first period, as first-year Fraser Smith (Fonthill, Ontario) took a pass up the left side and fired a wristshot past Babson junior goalie Skylar Nipps (Orlando, Fla.) just 4:22 into the contest. However, the Beavers responded less than two minutes later, as junior Nick Jones (Melrose, Mass.) tied the game when his screen shot from the left point trickled past Potsdam rookie goalie Rick Miller (Fort Erie, Ontario) at 6:04 of the opening session.
 
Both teams scored a pair of goals during a furiously-paced second period, beginning when junior JT Balben (Wayland, Mass.) put back a rebound of junior co-captain Brad Baldelli's (Northboro, Mass.) shot just 24 seconds in. Potsdam answered on a powerplay goal by senior Lance Smith (Fort Covington, N.Y.) at 3:23 before senior co-captain John Geverd (Hookset, N.H.) put Babson back in front, 3-2, with a powerplay score of his own at 6:42. Smith then struck again at 8:57 of the second, as he knotted the contest with his second powerplay goal of the period, sending the teams into the second intermission knotted at 3-3.

The Bears regained the advantage early in the third, as first-year Chris Beaudoin (Enfield, Conn.) took a pass deep in the Babson zone and wristed a shot past Nipps at 2:47. The score remained 4-3 until the 13-minute mark, when Babson sophomore Jason Schneider (Littleton, Mass.) took a pass from classmate Shane Farrell (West Warwick, R.I.) at the right point and ripped a shot past Miller to event the contest at 4-4. The Beavers would continue to press the advantage over the final seven minutes of regulation, but Miller made seven of his 29 saves during that stretch to send the game into overtime.

Both teams struggled to put up shots in the extra session, with Miller stopping the only bid on net by either squad. The contest then went to a shootout, where Miller and Nipps performed brilliantly in their respective nets. Miller stopped three of Babson's first four attempts, with Schneider hitting the left post on the other. Meanwhile, Nipps made five consecutive stops against the Bears, including a nice kick save on a backhand effort by sophomore Luke Beck (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) on his team's final bid. That set up Fazekas' heroics, as he broke right and backhanded a shot just inside the far left post to give the Beavers the 1-0 shootout win.

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Curry Fends Off Hamilton, 3-1, In BIT/Irving Oil Semifinals

BABSON PARK, Mass. -- Curry College took a two-goal lead with less than six minutes remaining and then withstood a furious comeback attempt by Hamilton College as the Colonels held on for a 3-1 win in the semifinals of the 2007 Babson Invitational Tournament presented by Irving Oil at the Babson Skating Center on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Curry (5-0-1) advances to Sunday's championship game at 4 p.m., while Hamilton (0-2-1) will play in the consolation game at 1 p.m. Babson will face SUNY Potsdam in Saturday's second semifinal matchup.
 
Hamilton took a 1-0 lead on its first shot of the contest, as senior Joe Buteau (Burlington, Vt.) wristed a shot past sophomore goalie Steven Jakiel (Santa Clarita, Calif.) on a breakaway at 5:54 of the first. Curry later tied the game on a breakaway effort by junior James Pentecost (Marquette, Mich.) at 10:46 of the first and then took a 2-1 lead when junior Jeffrey Hazelwood (Dublin, Calif.) found the upper right corner on the powerplay at 15:21 of the second.
 
Sophomore Sean Sylvester (Randolph, N.J.) netted a huge insurance goal for Curry at 14:21 of the third, as he intercepted a pass from behind the Hamilton net and lifted a shot into the upper left corner to make it 3-1. That would prove to be instrumental in the closing moments of the contest, as the Continentals enjoyed three powerplay opportunities in the final 2:46. However, Jakiel made seven clutch saves during that stretch, including three during a two-man advantage, to preserve the lead and the eventual 3-1 victory.
 
Jakiel finished with 30 saves in net for Curry, while first-year Mark Donovan (Pembroke, Mass.) made 35 stops in goal for Hamilton.