BOX
SCORE
BABSON PARK, Mass. -Junior Matt Masucci (Winthrop, Mass.) scored
a short-handed goal at 8:49 of the third period to lift the
visiting Williams College men's ice hockey team to a 3-2 win over
host Babson College in an ECAC East/NESCAC matchup at the Babson
Skating Center on Friday night. With the victory, the Ephs, ranked
sixth in the nation by U.S. College Hockey Online, improved to
13-4-3 overall and 11-4-1 in the NESCAC. The Beavers, meanwhile,
saw their seven-game unbeaten streak come to an end as they fell to
12-8-2 overall and 9-6-1 in the ECAC East.
Williams took an early lead when first-year Cody Skinner (Katy,
Texas) took a feed from senior captain Alex Smigelski (Mt. Lakes,
N.J.) behind the net and ripped a one-timer from the slot into the
lower right corner at 6:31 of the opening period. It was Skinner's
fourth goal of the season as the Ephs grabbed a 1-0 advantage that
they would carry into the first intermission.
Babson tied the contest with a powerplay goal at 1:51 of the
second period, beginning when sophomore Mike Hoban
(Medfield, Mass.) played the puck along the left boards
from behind the net. Senior Casey Fazekas (Montreal,
Quebec) then corralled the puck at the left point and
ripped a slapshot off the right post and in for his fifth of the
season.
The Ephs jumped right back in front with a powerplay score of
their own at 8:21 of the second period, as sophomore Justin Troiani
(Woodbridge, Ontario) took consecutive feeds from junior Connor
Olvany (Wilmette, Ill.) and sophomore Ryan Scott (Whitefish, Mont.)
and scored with a slapper from the top of the right circle. The
sophomore's third goal of the year gave the visitors a 2-1
advantage.
The Beavers knotted the score again at 15:28 of the second,
thanks in part to another Williams penalty. Just seconds after a
Babson powerplay expired but before the Ephs player could get back
to his defensive zone, Fazekas took another pass from Hoban at the
left point and fired a wrister past screened sophomore goalie Ryan
Purdy (La Jolla, Calif.) to make it 2-2. The goal, scored from
nearly the same spot as his first of the game, was Fazekas' sixth
of the winter.
Williams took the lead for good during a Babson powerplay midway
through the third period, beginning when Olvany's faceoff win in
his own defensive zone went right to junior Matt Masucci (Winthrop,
Mass.) on the left wing. Masucci then went the length of the ice
before lifting a wrist shot into the upper right corner from the
left circle for his eighth goal of the season overall and his
second shorthanded. It was also the junior forward's fifth
game-winner.
An empty net and another Ephs penalty gave Babson a two-skater
advantage for the final 1:27, but the Williams defense allowed just
a pair of shots on net during that span. Purdy denied both attempts
off the stick of junior Terry Woods (Duxbury,
Mass.), and Fazekas' slapper from the blue line was
blocked in front with 10 seconds remaining as the Ephs held on for
the 3-2 win.
Purdy finished with 26 saves in net for Williams, while
first-year Zeke Testa (Wellesley, Mass.) turned
away 25 shots between the pipes for Babson.
