BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Troy Starrett (Bellingham, Mass.) scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner 5:08 into the third period, lifting sixth-ranked Babson College past Skidmore College, 5-3, in Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East men's ice hockey action on Saturday afternoon at the Babson Skating Center.

With the victory, Babson is now 17-3-1 on the year and in sole possession of first place in the ECAC East at 11-2-1, while Skidmore drops to 7-8-7 overall and 3-6-6 in the conference.

Juniors Andrew Bonazza (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) and Joe DiPietro (Pembroke, Mass.), and first-year Tim Searles (Chesapeake, Va.) all scored for the Beavers. First-year Michael Phillips (Richmond Heights, Ohio) chipped in with a pair of assists.

First-year Marc Cibelli (Liverpool, N.Y.) scored twice for the Thoroughbreds. Senior Vlad Gavrik (Kharkiv, Ukraine) had a goal and classmate Brad Schuler (Delran, N.J.) notched two assists.

Babson killed off a pair of early Skidmore power plays, but the Thoroughbreds jumped on top 1-0 on Gavrik's 10th goal of the year at 14:40 of the first period. Junior Thomas Park (Framingham, Mass.) carried the puck through the neutral zone and inside the blue line before finding Gavrik on the right wing to set up the score.

Cibelli scored the first of his two goals to give Skidmore a 2-0 lead just 14 seconds into the second period, converting Schuler's feed from behind the net. The Beavers rallied though, as Bonazza buried a feed from senior Nik Tasiopoulos (Norwell, Mass.) to slice the deficit in half at the 4:43 mark. Starrett tied the game at 19:07 of the second period, jamming the puck home at the left post, and Searles followed with a blast from the slot following a great pass from sophomore Max Franklin (Wrentham, Mass.) to give Babson a 3-2 lead just 17 seconds later.

The Thoroughbreds did not go quietly, drawing even just 2:40 into the third period. Schuler won a faceoff on the left wing and first-year Anthony Bird (Central Square, N.Y.) found Cibelli, who ripped a shot from the right point that beat Beavers' sophomore goaltender Jamie Murray (Scituate, Mass.).

Starrett broke the tie just under two and a half minutes later, pouncing on the rebound of a shot from the point by senior Ben Kravitz (Huntington, N.Y.), to put the Green and White ahead to stay.

Babson killed off a pair of Skidmore penalties in the first 10 minutes of the third period, and DiPietro tacked on an insurance goal at the 12:33 mark, ripping a one-timer from just inside the blue line on the power play for his third tally of the season.

Murray made 35 saves to earn his 15th win of the season for the Beavers, while his counterpart, first-year Jack McDonald (King City, Ontario) of Skidmore, stopped 42 shots.

The Green and White held a 47-38 edge in shots and killed off all six of the Thoroughbreds power play opportunities.

Both teams return to action on Friday night at 7 p.m. as Babson takes on the University of New England at the Babson Skating Center, while Skidmore hosts Saint Michael's.

GAME NOTES: Babson is now 15-6-0 all-time against Skidmore and has won eight of the last 11 meetings between the two teams going back to 2010…The Beavers are 16-0 on the year when leading after two periods…Babson is unbeaten in its last 14 games at the Babson Skating Center (12-0-2), and is 6-0-1 in its last seven games overall…The Beavers are now 7-0 on the year when scoring four goals or more in a game.