No. 13/11 Men's Ice Hockey vs. Williams
Saturday, November 24 | 3:00 p.m.
Babson Skating Center | Babson Park, Mass.
THE SERIES
• Babson and Williams will meet for the 46th time on Saturday in a series that dates back to the 1979-80 season. The Beavers are 19-23-3 all-time against the Ephs and the teams have split a pair of matchups over the last two years.
LAST MEETING
• CJ Shugart had two goals and Williams scored three times over the final 12:05 of the second period on its way to defeating Babson, 4-1, on November 25, 2017, in Williamstown, Mass.
• Colby Cretella and David Italiano each had a goal for the Ephs, while junior Josh Beck scored late in the second period for the Beavers.
LAST BABSON WIN
• Charlie Ackerman '18 scored the go-ahead goal at 6:08 of the second period and senior Matt Pompa made a then-career-high 41 saves as the Beavers defeated Williams, 2-1, on November 26, 2016, in Babson Park.
• Bobby Hall '18 also scored for the Green and White, while senior Roberto Celleni had a goal for the Ephs.
SCOUTING THE EPHS
• Williams (2-0-0) has been off since rallying for a 4-3 win at Colby back on November 17.
• Senior Marcus Mollica scored twice and Cellini had a goal and two assists for the Ephs, who erased a 3-1 deficit midway through the second period to stay unbeaten.
• Williams returns four of its top four scorers, including Cellini (7-16-23) and Mollica (7-10-17), who combined for seven goals and four assists last weekend.
• Senior goaltender Michael Pinios went 8-6-0 with a 2.75 goals against average and a .910 save percentage last winter for the Ephs, who went 14-11-1 and reached the NESCAC semifinals last winter.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 13 USCHO.com/No. 11 D3hockey.com Babson (7-0-1) extended its winning streak to six with a 4-1 victory over Tufts on Tuesday night.
• Senior Tommy Munichiello, juniors Connor Dahlman and Ryan McDougall, and first-year Matt Wiesner all scored for the Beavers, who also got two assists apiece from sophomore Patrick Flynn and first-year Cole Sanderson.
• Sophomore Nick Rosa (7-6-13) has a point in six consecutive games, first-year Mike Egan (3-8-11) leads the team in assists, and Munichiello (3-6-9) is one of seven players on the team with a power play goal.
• Pompa and fellow senior Bryan Botcher have each started four times and combined to post a 1.86 goals against average and a .937 save percentage.
STREAKING BEAVERS
• In addition to Rosa's six-game points streak, both Munichiello and Wiesner enter the weekend having produced at least one point in four consecutive outings.
• Additionally, Flynn has a goal and two assists over the last two games after missing six contests in a row to begin the season.
PENALTY KILLING PROWESS
• The Beavers have killed off 29-of-32 penalties through seven games for an 90.62 percent success rate, which ranks 13th in Division III.
• Going back to the second period of a 2-1 win over Castleton on November 9, Babson has held its opponents scoreless on 21 consecutive power play opportunities, which includes a 6-for-6 effort on the penalty kill against Tufts on Tuesday.
HISTORY OF STARTING FAST
• For the third time since 2013-14 and fourth time in the last 12 seasons, Babson has gotten through its first eight games without a loss.
• The 2014-15 squad began the season with 11 consecutive wins, the 2013-14 Beavers started 8-0-0 on the way to reaching the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, and the 2015-16 team went 7-0-1 over its first eight outings.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• During its current nine-game unbeaten streak at home, the Beavers have outscored their competition 38-19.
