No. 9 Men's Ice Hockey at New England College | Friday, December 3 | 7 p.m.
Lee Clement Arena | Henniker, N.H.
No. 9 Men's Ice Hockey at No. 6 Norwich | Saturday, December 4 | 4 p.m.
Kreitzberg Arena | Northfield, Vt.
WHAT TO KNOW
• The Beavers return to New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) action this weekend with road games Friday at (ARV) New England College and Saturday at No. 6 Norwich.
SERIES HISTORY
vs. New England College
• Babson is 46-22-8 all-time against New England College in a series that dates back to 1977.
• The Beavers swept all four games against NEC during last year's Covid-shortened season, outscoring the Pilgrims, 19-5.
• Babson swept a home-and-home series in February, 4-2 and 2-1, and took both games in a March home-and-home, 7-0 and 6-2.
• Babson has won five straight matchups going back to January of 2020.
vs. Norwich
• Babson is 25-45-7 all-time against Norwich in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 campaign.
• Saturday's meeting will be the first between the two schools since February 1, 2020, when No. 1 Norwich blanked No. 9 Babson, snapping the Beavers' 15-game unbeaten streak (13-0-2).
• Norwich has won four in a row over the Beavers since a 5-3 Babson victory on November 10, 2018, at Babson Park.
• Babson is seeking its first victory at Kreitzberg Arena since upsetting the Cadets, 2-1, on March 8, 2014, in the ECAC East Championship game.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 9 Babson (7-1-2, 3-1-2 NEHC) is riding a four-game winning streak, including three straight non-conference victories over New England Small Conference Athletic Conference (NESCAC) foes Tufts (7-5), Bowdoin (3-1), and Colby (5-4).
• The Beavers pulled out the win on Sunday against Colby in a third period that saw five goals and three lead changes, including the eventual game-winner by sophomore Thomas Kramer with 2:12 remaining.
• The eight Babson goals last weekend came from seven different players, with junior Chris Rooney the only one to score in both contests.
• The top production for the Beavers comes from the top line of seniors Ryan Black (8-7-15) and Mike Egan (6-6-12) and Kramer (3-7-10).
• Babson is averaging 4.10 goals per game while allowing just 2.53 goals per outing.
SCOUTING THE PILGRIMS
• New England College (5-2-1, 2-2-1 NEHC) posted a 1-1 tie against then-No. 4 Norwich in its last conference game on November 19, and picked up a 6-3 non-conference win over Salem State last Saturday.
• After being outshot by Norwich in the opening period, the Pilgrims had a 21-17 shot advantage over the Cadets the rest of the way in the deadlock.
• Six different players found the net in the triumph over the Vikings, led by freshman David Novotny, who added an assist to his penalty shot goal.
• Senior Spencer Kozlowski turned aside 26 shots for NEC in the tie against Norwich, and classmate Andrew Kormos made 22 saves in the win over Salem State.
• NEC posted a 3-7 record in last year's Covid-shortened season after finishing 17-9-1 overall and 12-6 in the NEHC in 2019-20.
SCOUTING THE CADETS
• No. 6 Norwich (5-0-3, 2-0-3 NEHC) claimed its record 11th First Light Great Northern Shootout title with a 5-2 win over Plattsburgh State on Sunday at Middlebury.
• Senior Brett Ouderkirk earned tournament MVP honors for the second time in his career after scoring a goal against Plattsburgh on Sunday to add to his four-point night vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering on Friday.
• Junior goalie Andrew Albano made 24 saves on Sunday to add to his 30 from Friday and improve to 4-0-0 on the season.
• The Cadets stretched their unbeaten streak to eight games to open the season, the best start since the 2014-15 season when they went 12 straight unbeaten to open the year.
• Norwich posted a 7-1 record in last year's Covid-shortened season after finishing 24-2-2 overall and 16-1-1 in the NEHC in 2019-20.
BEAVER STREAKS VS. THE PILGRIMS
• Black has recorded at least one point in all eight games of his career against New England College, totaling four goals and 13 assists for 17 points.
• Egan has notched at least one point in seven straight games vs. NEC, accumulating eight goals and four assists for 12 points.
• Senior Matt Wiesner has collected at least a point in five of his eight games, scoring five goals and adding two assists for seven points.
NEHC LEADERS
• Black (8-7-15) leads the NEHC in goals and points and ranks tied for sixth in assists. He has a league-leading four game-winning goals and is tied for second I with three power play goals.
• Egan (6-6-12) ranks third in the league in points, tied for fifth in goals, and tied for ninth in assists.
• Kramer (3-7-10) is tied for sixth in the league in both assists and points.
• Graduate student Brad Arvanitis (3-1-2) ranks fifth in the NEHC with save percentage (.922) and seventh in goals against average (2.63).
POLL POSITION
• Babson remains one of three NEHC teams ranked in the Top 9 in the USCHO.com Division III poll, as Hobart is ranked fifth, Norwich is sixth, and Babson is ninth.
• Two other NEHC teams received votes in this week's poll – Elmira and New England College.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 24-1-1 over the last three seasons when scoring first.
• Babson is 28-0-1 when leading after two periods over the last two seasons.
• The Beavers are unbeaten over their last 29 contests when allowing two or fewer goals, a streak that extends back to November 23, 2019.
A LOOK AHEAD
• Babson will be idle for final exams and the Christmas holiday before returning to action on Friday, December 31, when the Beavers host Trinity College at 2 p.m. at the Babson Skating Center.
