BOX
SCORE
BABSON PARK, Mass. - The Babson College Beavers scored all three
of their three goals in the second period on their way to a 3-0 win
over visiting Hamilton College in and ECAC East/NESCAC men's ice
hockey contest at the Babson Skating Center on Friday night. With
the victory, the Beavers snapped a three-game slide and improved to
4-5-1 overall and 3-3-0 in the ECAC East, while the Continentals
fell to 4-3-1 overall and 3-2-0 in the NESCAC.
After a scoreless first period, Babson erupted for three goals
on 17 shots in a dominating second, beginning with senior
JT Balben's (Wayland, Mass.) second goal of the
season just 36 seconds in. Skating in on a 2-on-1 break, senior
co-captain Brad Baldelli (Northboro, Mass.) fed
Balben on the left side, where the senior forward carried it to the
end line and fired a shot off sophomore goalie Scott Hefferman
(Warwick, R.I.) and in for the game's first goal.
The Beavers made it 2-0 at 8:26 of the second, as senior
Pat McLaughlin (Berlin, Mass.) fed the puck up ice
to junior Jason Schneider (Littleton, Mass.), who
broke in with classmate Shane Farrell (West
Warwick,R.I.) on a 2-on-1. Schneider then fed
Farrell on the left side, where he riffled a wrister past Hefferman
for his third goal of the season. Babson junior Chris Wood
(Medford, Mass.) later made it 3-0 on yet another 2-on-1
break, as he took a pass from junior Chris Sabo (Wellesley,
Mass.) on the right side and found the upper right corner
for his team-leading fifth goal of the season at 17:24.
That would be more than enough offensive support for Babson
senior goaltender Skylar Nipps (Orlando, Fla.),
who was sensational in the win. The veteran netminder stopped all
21 shots that he faced in the contest as he recorded his first
shutout of the season and second of his career.
Hefferman took the loss in net for the Continentals, allowing three
goals and making 18 saves in just over 37 minutes of action. Junior
Ian Stearns (Fitchburg, Mass.) came on in relief and played the
final 21 minutes, stopping all 12 shots that he faced.
Both teams return to conference action tomorrow afternoon, as
Babson hosts Amherst at 4 p.m. and Hamilton visits UMass-Boston at
3 p.m.
