BOX SCORE
BABSON PARK, Mass. – The visiting Hamilton College
men's ice hockey team clinched the top seed in the upcoming
NESCAC Tournament with a 3-1 victory over host Babson College in
the final game of the ECAC East/NESCAC regular season at the Babson
Skating Center on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, the Continentals improved to 14-6-4 overall
and 11-4-4 in NESCAC play, giving them a league-best 26 total
points. Meanwhile, Babson falls to 9-13-3 overall and 7-9-3 in the
ECAC East and as the fifth seed will head to fourth-seeded Skidmore
for a 7 p.m. quarterfinal matchup with the Thoroughbreds next
Saturday night.
Babson held a 10-5 shot advantage heading into the final minute
of the first period, but the Continentals would manage to take a
1-0 lead into the first intermission thanks to a goal by first-year
Michael DiMare (Medford, Mass.) with just 32.5 seconds remaining.
After stealing the puck along the right boards in the Babson zone,
the freshman forward skated in alone on Babson sophomore goalie
Zeke Testa (Wellesley, Mass.) and stuffed a shot
through the five-hole for his 14th goal of the season at 19:28.
Hamilton increased its advantage to 2-0 early in the second
period, beginning when DiMare put a shot on net from the left side
that was saved by Testa. DiMare then picked up his own rebound,
skated behind the net, and stuffed his second goal of the night
inside the far post at 3:15.
Babson finally got on the board midway through the second, as
senior captain Terry Woods (Duxbury, Mass.) fired
a shot from the left corner that deflected off freshman
Troy Starrett (Bellingham, Mass.) and trickled
over the goal line just inside the left post at 11:32. It was
Starrett's fourth goal of the winter and it cut the
Beavers' deficit to 2-1.
The Continentals extended their lead back to two goals six
minutes into the third period, as sophomore forward Andrew Jelinek
(Great Falls, Va.) took a lead pass from junior Sam Choate (Weston,
Mass.) on the right side and broke in alone on Testa. Jelinek then
lifted a shot into the upper right corner for his third goal of the
season at 6:05.
That would prove to be enough for Hamilton senior goalie Scott
Hefferman (Warwick, R.I.), who stopped 27 of the 28 shots that he
faced to secure the 3-1 victory. At the other end, Testa finished
with 23 saves in net for Babson.
