PINE VALLEY, N.Y. — Sophomore Nicholas Domitrovic (Ottawa, Ont.) scored two third-period goals and No. 10 Elmira College snuffed out a late comeback by No. 6 Babson College Saturday afternoon as the Soaring Eagles defeated the Beavers, 5-3, in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) action at the Murray Athletic Center.

Elmira won its sixth consecutive game to improve to 12-3-1 overall and 6-2-1 in the NEHC, while Babson, playing its first game since December 4, had its five-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 8-2-2 overall and 4-2-2 in conference play.

Junior Chris Rooney (Milton, Mass.) and senior Ryan Black (Pomfret, Conn.) tallied a goal and an assist each to lead Babson, and senior Matt Wiesner (Newport Beach, Calif.) scored one goal. Senior John Corrigan (Stoneham, Mass.) collected two assists and juniors Rory Casey (Newton, Mass.) and Andrew Holland (Winchester, Mass.) added one assist apiece. Senior goalie Aidan Murphy (Walpole, Mass.) made 28 saves for the Beavers in the setback.

Sophomores Bailey Krawczyk (Elmira, N.Y.) and Chance Gorman (Clinton, N.Y.) added a goal and an assist to the Elmira offense, and senior Nick Grinvalds (Parsippany, N.J.) also scored once. Sophomore Ryan Reifler (Binghamton, N.Y.) furnished two assists and graduate student Chris Janzen (Pelham, Ont.) made 27 saves in goal to improve his record to 6-3-1.

After a scoreless first period, Elmira broke the deadlock with a shorthanded goal by Krawczyk at 1:05 of the second frame, snapping a wrister from the right boards that eluded Murphy. Gorman doubled the Soaring Eagles' lead with a goal from the right circle at the 4:39 mark, and Grinvalds made it 3-0 with another strike from the right circle just before the midway point of the period.

Babson got on the board when Black set up Rooney for a goal from the slot at 12:16, with Corrigan also assisting on the play, slicing the deficit to 3-1 heading into the third period.

Elmira struck with a power play goal in the first minute of the final stanza, as Domitrovic tipped in a shot from the point by sophomore Daniel Dimon (Elmira, N.Y.), making it a 4-1 game.

The Beavers attempted a comeback in the final five minutes. Wiesner put in a rebound at 15:21 after a flurry of shots on Janzen, with assists from Casey and Holland, but Domitrovic answered for Elmira just 45 second later with an unassisted tally, capitalizing on a Babson turnover at the blue line, going in alone on Janzen and sliding in a backhander as the hosts regained their three-goal lead.

Babson got its third goal on a wrister by Black over the shoulder of Janzen at 18:21, and the Beavers pulled their goalie for the final 1:39 but managed just one shot on goal the rest of the way.

Elmira finished with a 33-30 advantage in shots on goal. The Soaring Eagles went 1-for-3 on the power play while holding the Beavers scoreless on six attempts with the man advantage.

Babson will skate again on Sunday with a 4:00 p.m. face-off at No. 5 Hobart. Elmira will take on Hobart in a home-and-home series next weekend, Friday night at home and Saturday afternoon in Geneva, N.Y.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 5-6-0 all-time against the Soaring Eagles in a series that dates back to 1977-78.
• Elmira evened the season series vs. the Beavers after Babson won the first contest, 6-3, back on November 5.
• The Beavers are now 7-2-1 this season when scoring at least three goals, and 30-3-1 since the start of the 2019-20 season with at least three goals.
• Babson was held without a power play goal for just the fourth time in 12 games this season.