BABSON PARK, Mass. – Babson College scored three goals in the opening nine minutes and senior goalie Andrew Peabody (Marblehead, Mass.) made 25 saves in net as the Beavers defeated visiting Skidmore College, 4-1, in an ECAC East men's ice hockey matchup at the Babson Skating Center on Friday night.

Now unbeaten in their last six contests (4-0-2), the Beavers improved to 7-11-2 overall and 7-4-2 in conference play. Meanwhile, Skidmore drops to 7-11-2 overall and 6-7-0 in the ECAC East.

Babson gave Peabody all the offensive support he would need in the first nine minutes of play. First-year Andrew Bonazza (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) got things started when he gathered a rebound of classmate Mike Driscoll's (Milton, Mass.) shot and tucked it inside the right post for his six goal of the season just 10 seconds in. The Beavers then made it 2-0 when senior Cody Carlson (Peterborough, N.H.) potted his sixth of the winter off a feed from sophomore Troy Starrett (Bellingham, Mass.) at 4:18, and sophomore Matt O'Neill (Norwell, Mass.) capped the early outburst when he converted feeds from juniors Ryan Smith (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Jay Haseley (Rochester, N.Y.) for his second of the year at 8:38.

After being denied on their first 20 shots of the contest, the Thoroughbreds finally broke through against Peabody late in the second period. Off a Babson turnover, junior Brendan Cottam (Belmont, Mass.) carried the puck into the Beavers' zone and sent it across to the right point, where sophomore Aaron Beck (Maribel, Wisc.) sent a wrister into the lower left corner for his fifth goal of the campaign at 15:14.

Skidmore had a chance to cut its deficit to one late in regulation, as a Babson penalty coupled with an empty net gave the visitors a two-skater advantage with a little less than two minutes remaining. However, Babson sophomore defenseman Matt Furey (Quincy, Mass.) finished off the 4-1 victory when he blocked a shot attempt near his own blue line and sent the puck into the open net at the other end for his first of the season at 18:31.

Peabody was once again outstanding in net for Babson, making 10 saves in the first, 11 in the second, and four in the third of a total of 25 in the game. At the other end, Skidmore senior Colin Bessey (Montclair, N.J.) finished with 22 stops in defeat.