BOX SCORE

BABSON PARK, Mass. - The Babson College men's ice hockey team came less than a minute from upsetting undefeated Norwich University on Saturday afternoon, but the Cadets scored with 50.5 seconds remaining in regulation to earn a 3-3 tie with the Beavers in a matchup of the top two teams in the ECAC East. With the deadlock, the first-place Cadets, ranked second in the nation by U.S. College Hockey Online, remained undefeated at 15-0-4 overall and 12-0-2 in the conference, while Babson remained in second place at 10-7-2 overall and 7-5-1 in the ECAC East.

Norwich first-year Blake Forkey (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Babson sophomore Mike Hoban (Medfield, Mass.) scored two goals apiece to  lead their respective teams on offense, while Cadets' senior Ryan Klingengsmith (Morton, Pa.) and Beavers' first-year Zeke Testa (Wellesley, Mass.) both played well in net. Klingensmith finished with 14 saves between the pipes for Norwich, while Testa turned in a stellar game with 31 stops for Babson.

Despite being outshot, 14-4, in the opening period, Babson jumped out to a 1-0 lead midway through the session when Hoban took the puck near the right circle, moved across an open slot, and backhanded a low shot past Klingengsmith at 10:28. The Beavers nearly made it 2-0 at the 14-minute mark, but first-year Ryan Smith's (Lynnfield, Mass.) breakaway slapper from the left circle glanced off the crossbar and over the boards.

Norwich finally broke through in the second period, scoring two unanswered goals to move in front, 2-1. The first came when Forkey tipped a slapper from sophomore Shawn Baker (Mont-Laurier, Quebec) from the left point into the upper right corner at 7:16 of the period, and the Cadets' second tally came when first-year Kyle Thomas (Waltham, Mass.) broke in alone on Testa and stuffed a shot inside the left post at 16:17.

In an action-packed third period, Babson rattled off two straight powerplay goals in less than a minute to take a 3-2 lead. Hoban netted the first when he put back a rebound of junior Terry Woods' (Duxbury, Mass.) deflected shot at 7:33, and first-year PT Donato (Arlington, Mass.) put the Beavers in front when he took a feed from senior Chris Wood (Medford, Mass.) behind the net and scored at 8:30.

Babson maintained its one-goal advantage until the final minute of play, when Norwich potted the tying goal to send the contest into overtime. Just seconds after Klingensmith vacated the Cadets' net, senior Steve Coon (Berne, N.Y.) hit a slap shot from the left point that Forkey was able to tip just inside the right post with 50.5 seconds remaining in regulation. Testa then saved the lone shot of the overtime period as the two teams settled for the 3-3 tie.