Dec. 5, 2007

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. - The Babson College men's ice hockey team pulled its goalie with 1:40 left in the third period and junior forward JT Balben prevented an upset with the game-tying score coming with 17 seconds remaining as the Beavers earned a 1-1 overtime tie against host University of Massachusetts Boston tonight in an ECAC East contest at the Clark Athletic Center. The Beacons are now 3-4-1 overall and 1-3-1 in ECAC East play and are unbeaten in four of their last five games. They are now off to their best start since they posted a 4-3-0 mark in 1996-97. The Beavers, who are ranked eighth in the nation by USCHO.com, experience their first tie in conference play but remain unbeaten at 6-0-2 overall and and 4-0-1 in the ECAC East.

Following two periods of scoreless hockey, both teams registered their only goals in the final session. UMass Boston killed a pair of power plays in the final period before sophomore forward Kris Kranzky (Glendora, CA) finally broke through with his first goal of the season from in front of the net off assists from freshmen forwards Andrew MacCormack (East Boston, MA) and David Lun (Grand Rapids, MI) with just 2:32 left to play.

After sophomore Skyler Nipps (Orlando, Fla.) left the Babson net for an extra skater with 1:40 remaining, junior forward Brad Baldelli and junior defenseman Alex DiPietro combined to find Balben for the equalizer - a shot into the right corner from the left side of the crease - with just 17 seconds left to play in regulation. The Beavers then owned a 3-1 shot advantage in the overtime session, giving them a 36-23 edge for the game, but the Beacons kept them off the board as the contest ended in a 1-1 tie.

Sophomore goaltender Ryan Donovan (Rexford, NY) was outstanding between the pipes for UMass-Boston, turning away 35 shots, while Nipps made 22 stops in net for Babson.

The Beacons will be in action again when they host Suffolk University in the first round of the 43rd Annual Codfish Bowl at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 28. The Beavers will resume play on January 4 when they take on Saint Olaf at 4:00 p.m. in the first round of the Times-Argus Invitational at Norwich University in Northfield, VT.

NOTE: Taken from a UMass-Boston press release.