No. 6 Men's Ice Hockey vs. Trinity | Friday, December 31 | 2 p.m.
Babson Skating Center | Babson Park, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 17-8-2 all-time against Trinity in a series that dates back to the 1969-70 campaign.
• The Beavers have captured the last six meetings against the Bantams.
• Friday's game will be the first between the two schools since a 5-1 Babson victory on December 4, 2010, at Babson Park.
LAST MEETING
• Babson built an early 3-0 lead and Zeke Testa '13 made 36 saves in net as the host Beavers defeated Trinity, 5-1, in an ECAC East/NESCAC matchup.
• The Beavers went up 3-0 on first period goals by Matt O'Neill '14, Jay Haseley '13 and Matt Furey '14, and added insurance goals in the third by Cody Carlson '12 and Ben Kravitz '14.
• Trinity got its only goal in the second period by Adam Houli '12.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 6 Babson (8-1-2, 4-1-2 NEHC) won its last five games before the break for final exams and the holidays, including a 6-4 triumph over then-No. 6 Norwich in Northfield, Vt., on December 4.
• Sophomore Thomas Kramer registered a natural hat trick for the Beavers in the win over Norwich, tying the game midway through the third period, scoring the game-winner with 50 seconds remaining and adding an empty netter with 26 seconds on the clock.
• Babson snapped a four-game losing streak to Norwich, posting its first victory in Northfield, Vt., since the ECAC East championship game on March 8, 2014
• The Green and White have four players who have reached double figures in scoring through 11 games -- seniors Ryan Black (8-7-15), Mike Egan (6-7-13) and Matt Wiesner (5-5-10) along with Kramer (6-7-13).
• Babson is tied for third in the NEHC with 4.27 goals per game while allowing just 2.60 goals per outing.
SCOUTING THE BANTAMS
• Trinity (4-4-0, 2-2-0 NESCAC) snapped a four-game losing streak in its last game before the break with a 4-3 victory over then-No. 4 Hobart on December 11.
• The Bantams got first-period goals from sophomores Devan Tongue and Jax Murray and second period markers from sophomore Casey Rhodes and what ended up as the game-winner by first-year Richard Boysen.
• First-year Patrick Pugliese evened his record at 3-3 in net for the Bantams with 26 saves.
• Murray (7-4-11) leads the team in scoring while Gerard Maretta (3-5-8) and Kyle Tomaso (3-5-8) are tied for second.
• Trinity averages 3.0 goals a game but allows just 2.3 goals per outing.
COMMON OPPONENTS
• Babson and Trinity have had two common opponents on the schedule so far this season – Tufts and Hobart.
• The Beavers tied Hobart 2-2 back on November 6 and defeated Tufts 7-5 on November 23, both on home ice.
• The Bantams knocked off Tufts 6-4 back on November 20 in Malden, Mass., and edged Hobart 4-3 on home ice in Hartford, Conn., on December 11.
BABSON VS. THE NESCAC
• Friday's game will be the fourth for Babson this season against teams from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), sweeping the first three in a six-day stretch in November.
• Babson downed Tufts (7-5) at home on November 23, Bowdoin (3-1) on November 27, and Colby (5-4) on November 28, the latter two on the road.
• The Beavers have two more encounters against NESCAC schools slated for this season, January 25 against Amherst and February 8 versus Williams, both at the Babson Skating Center.
NEHC LEADERS
• Black (8-7-15) is tied for fourth in goals and tied for fifth in points in the NEHC while Egan (6-7-13) and Kramer (6-7-13) are tied for ninth in both goals and points. Black is also tied for sixth with three power play goals.
• Black and Kramer are 1-2 in the league in game-winning goals with four and three, respectively.
• Graduate student Brad Arvanitis (3-1-2) ranks third in the NEHC with save percentage (.922) and seventh in goals against average (2.63).
NESCAC LEADERS
• Murray (7-4-11) is atop the NESCAC in goals and points while Maretta (3-5-8) and Tomaso (3-5-8) are tied for seventh.
• Murray is tied for the league lead with four power play scores.
• Pugliese (3-3) ranks third in both save percentage (.920) and goals against average (2.36).
POLL POSITION
• Babson remains one of three NEHC teams ranked in the Top 8 in the USCHO.com Division III poll, and one of four in the top 15.
• Hobart is No. 5 in this week's poll, followed by No. 6 Babson, No. 8 Norwich and No. 15 Elmira. New England College was also listed as receiving votes.
• The NESCAC is represented by two teams receiving votes – Trinity and Williams.
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 returns to NEHC action to open 2022, hosting Southern Maine on Friday, January 7, followed by a pair of tough conference road tilts at No. 5 Hobart and No. 15 Elmira on January 14-15.
