#11 Norwich Edges #13 Ice Hockey, 1-0, In Battle Of Nationally-Ranked Teams

Jan. 18, 2008

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Sophomore goalie Ryan Klingensmith (Morton, Pa.) made 29 saves to earn his first collegiate shutout as visiting Norwich University defeated host Babson College in a matchup of two nationally-ranked ECAC East ice hockey teams at the Babson Skating Center on Friday night. With the win, 11th-ranked Norwich improved to 11-3-0 overall and 7-1-0 in the conference, while 13th-ranked Babson fell to 8-3-2 overall and 5-2-1 in the ECAC East.

The game was halted just 30 seconds in, as a shattered pane of glass resulted in a 29-minutes delay. Once play resumed, Norwich took the lead at 8:15 of the first, as junior Nikita Kashirsky (Moscow, Russia) made a move to get free in front and fired a hard wrist shot past junior goalie Skylar Nipps (Orlando, Fla.) and inside the left post for his 11th goal of the season. Seniors Eric Oullette (Valdor, Quebec) and Raphael Robitaille (Cap-Rouse, Quebec) each picked up assists on the play.

Both teams had great chances in the second period, but Nipps and Klingensmith each came up with spectacular saves to keep it a 1-0 game. Nipps came up big with 4:30 remaining in the period, as he denied a wide open attempt by Kashirsky on a breakaway. The Beavers would then have a golden opportunity with 1:09 left in the second, but Klingensmith made the play of the game to keep the Beavers off the board. After a Babson player dumped the puck in along the boards, an odd carom sent it drifting out to charging junior Brad Baldelli (Northboro, Mass.), who hammered a slap shot onto a wide-open net. However, Klingensmith came from behind the net and knocked the shot down with a tremendous diving glove save on what proved to be Babson's best chance of the contest.

The Beavers came out firing in the third period, registering eight unanswered shots on their way to an overwhelming 16-1 advantage in the session. However, Klingensmith was equal to the task, stopping all 16 bids to preserve the shutout victory.

Nipps had another strong game in net for Babson, finishing with 18 saves.

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