BOX
SCORE
HENNIKER, N.H. -- The Babson College men's ice hockey team
advanced to its second ECAC East Tournament Final in three years on
Friday, as the seventh-seeded Beavers defeated sixth-seeded
Skidmore College, 3-2, in the conference semifinals at New England
College. With the victory, Babson (12-13-1) will now play #8
UMass-Boston in the Championship Game on Saturday at 4 p.m. - the
tournament's first-ever final between a seventh and eighth seed.
Junior Jason Schneider (Littleton, Mass.)
scored a pair of goals for the Beavers, while first-year
Terry Woods (Duxbury, Mass.) added another. Rookie
goalie Andrew Peabody (Marblehead, Mass.) went the
distance in net for Babson, stopping 16 of the 18 shots that he
faced.
Skidmore grabbed a 1-0 lead when Joe Melnyk scored his seventh
goal of the year at 14:18 of the first period. The Beavers then
tied the contest four and a half minutes later, when Woods potted
his sixth of the season off an assist from junior Corey
Griffin (Hingham, Mass.) at 18:39.
The game remained even until the final minutes of the second
period, when Schneider converted an assist from senior co-captain
Brad Baldelli (Northborough, Mass.) at 18:04.
Babson then made it 3-1 when Schneider netted his second of the day
and team-leading 11th of the season off an Alex DiPietro
(Winthrop, Mass.) assist at 6:48 of the third.
The Thouroughbreds would later cut the lead in half on a goal by
Teddy Gowan at 12:40, but that would be all Peabody and the Babson
defense would allow as the Beavers held on for the 3-2 victory.
Babson held a commanding 35-18 shot advantage in the contest,
including a dominating 20-4 mark in the second period.
