Pompa Makes 32 Saves To Post Second Shutout In As Many Starts

BABSON PARK, Mass.—No. 7 USCHO.com/No. 10 D3hockey.com Babson College scored three times in the third period and first-year goaltender Matt Pompa (Palm City, Fla.) made a career-high 32 saves as the Beavers defeated visiting Skidmore College, 3-0, in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) action on Saturday afternoon at the Babson Skating Center.

With its second straight win, Babson is now 13-4-2 overall and 9-2-1 in league play, while Skidmore, which was unbeaten in its previous three games, drops to 4-12-3 and 4-6-2 in the NEHC.

Seniors Max Franklin (Wrentham, Mass.) and Mike Vollmin (Wilmington, N.C.), and sophomore Rob Devaney (Reading, Mass.) all scored once for Babson. Senior Phil Saviuk (Pointe-Claire, Quebec), juniors Dan Casey (Chatham, N.J.) and Tim Searles (Chesapeake, Va.), and sophomore Ryan Gouveia (Dartmouth, Mass.) all finished with one assist apiece in support of Pompa, who has recorded shutouts in each of his first two collegiate starts this season.

Junior Jack McDonald (King City, Ontario) finished with 37 saves on the day for the Thoroughbreds, who have been blanked twice this season, both times by the Beavers.

The Green and White finished with a 12-10 edge in first-period shots and dominated play for much of the second period, but was unable to get on the board. McDonald denied first-year Tommy Munichiello (Weymouth, Mass.) with a sprawling save just under three minutes into the stanza and sophomore Jake Donahue (Groveland, Mass.) saw his rebound attempt of a shot by junior Bill Seligman (Toronto, Ontario) deflect off the post before being cleared at the 11:34 mark.

The Beavers killed off a pair of penalties in the middle period and had maybe their best scoring chance over the first 40 minutes as part of a 3-on-1 rush while shorthanded. Devaney carried the puck into the zone and dropped it back for junior Michael Phillips (Richmond Heights, Ohio), who missed just wide.

After killing off 1:47 of another Skidmore power play to open the third, Babson struck twice in the span of 73 seconds to build a two-goal lead. Franklin stuffed home the rebound of a Gouveia shot at the top of the crease for his second goal of the year at the 3:52 mark, and Devaney followed with a highlight-reel goal at 5:05 as he slipped past a defender at the blue line and beat McDonald on a breakaway to make it 2-0.

Pompa made six of his 15 third-period saves in a 90-second stretch after the Thoroughbreds pulled McDonald for an extra attacker, and Vollmin tacked on an empty net goal at 14:46 for the final margin.

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

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 18-6-0 all-time against Skidmore and have won seven consecutive games against the Thoroughbreds going back to 2013.
• Franklin, Vollmin and Searles have now combined for nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points over the last nine games against Skidmore.
• The shutout was the fifth of the season for the Beavers and the first since Pompa made 26 saves to blank UMass-Dartmouth on November 24.
• Babson is now 13-0-1 this season when scoring first and 12-1-1 when scoring at least three goals.