BOX
SCORE
BABSON PARK, Mass. - The second-seeded Babson College men's ice
hockey team took a 2-0 lead after one period and held on to defeat
seventh-seeded UMass-Boston, 4-2, in the quarterfinal round of the
2010 ECAC East Tournament at the Babson Skating Center on Saturday
night. With the victory, the Beavers (13-11-2) advance to next
Friday's semifinal round, which will be held at Norwich University.
Meanwhile, the Beacons see their season come to a close with an
overall record of 10-13-2.
First-year Zeke Testa (Wellesley, Mass.)
continued his brilliant play in net for Babson, finishing with 25
saves in his ECAC East Tournament debut. At the other end,
UMass-Boston senior Ryan Donovan (Rexford, N.Y.) turned away 20
shots in defeat, giving him 2669 in his spectacular four-year
career. As a result, he will graduate in 13th place on the NCAA's
all-time Division III saves list.
Babson got on the board just over a minute into the game. Senior
defenseman Ian Goodwin (Cooper City, Fla.)
intercepted a UMass-Boston pass in the neutral zone and fed
first-year forward PT Donato (Arlington, Mass.) at
the blue line. Donato then fired a quick pass to senior
Chris Wood (Medford, Mass.), who wristed a shot
from the bottom of the right circle into the far upper corner for
the game's first goal at 1:11 of the opening period.
Babson's second goal of the night came exactly 12 minutes later,
as sophomore Cody Carlson (Peterborough, N.H.)
broke down the left side and wristed a shot from a tough angle into
the far upper corner at 13:11.
UMass-Boston cut its deficit in half in the opening six minutes
of the second, as junior Eric Tufman (Abington, Pa.) took a feed
from first-year Steven Weston (Henniker, N.H.) along the left
boards, skated to the left circle, and beat Testa high on the short
side at 5:54. However, Babson answered at 8:06, as senior
Casey Fazekas (Montreal, Quebec) took a shot from
the left point during a 4-on-4 that glanced off Donovan's
outstretched glove and settled into the right corner for the
Beavers' third goal of the game. Senior Shane Farrell (West
Warwick, R.I.) picked up an assist on the play.
The Beacons once again pulled to within one later in the second,
as senior Kris Kranzky (Glendora, Calif.) took a pass from
classmate Anthony Cosmano (Wheaton, Ill.) in the slot and fired a
wide-open shot inside the right post at 12:06. UMass-Boston would
have a golden opportunity to pull even in the closing moments of
the session, but sophomore Wayne Sands' (Chalfant, Pa.) open bid
from just outside the crease was denied by Testa seconds before
time expired as Babson held on to a slim 3-2 lead heading into the
second intermission.
Babson got a huge insurance goal early in the third period,
beginning when sophomore Mike Hoban (Medfield,
Mass.) took a pass from junior Terry Woods
(Duxbury, Mass.) and broke down the right side. Donavan
was able to stop Hoban's initial bid, but first-year Ryan
Smith (Lynnfield, Mass.) was there to clean up the rebound
to give the hosts a 4-2 advantage at 0:23.
UMass-Boston had a pair of powerplay opportunities later in the
third, but the Babson defense held strong in both instances. During
the first man-advantage midway through the session, the Beacons
kept the puck in the Beavers' zone for nearly the entire two
minutes before Wood came up with a clutch block at the top of the
right circle and cleared it as the penalty expired. UMass-Boston's
final powerplay chance came over the final 1:32, but even with
Donavan out of net in favor of an extra skater, the Babson defense
would not allow a shot on net as the Beavers held on for the 4-2
victory.
