No. 7 Men's Ice Hockey vs. Plymouth State
Saturday, October 29 | 4 p.m.
Babson Skating Center | Babson Park, Mass.

BABSON:  Roster | Schedule & Results | 2021-22 Stats
PYMOUTH:  Roster | Schedule & Results | 2021-22 Stats
NEHC: Standings | Schedule & Results | 2021-22 Stats
MASCAC: Standings | Schedule & Results | 2021-22 Stats
USCHO: Division III Poll

WHAT TO KNOW
• Both teams drop the puck on the 2022-23 men's ice hockey campaign Saturday afternoon when Babson hosts Plymouth State at the Babson Skating Center.
• The Beavers are defending champions of the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) while the Panthers are the three-time defending champions of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC).
• Babson has earned back-to-back berths in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals last season while PSU has received three straight NCAA Tournament berths.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson leads Plymouth State 5-1-1 in the all-time series that dates back to the 2002-03 season.
• The Beavers have won four in a row against the Panthers, including last year's season opener in Plymouth, N.H.
• Babson also swept a home-and-home series against Plymouth State in March of 2021 during a Covid-shortened 2020-21 season.

LAST MEETING
• Junior Thomas Kramer scored the go-ahead goal at 18:49 of the third period to help visiting Babson rally for a 2-1 win over Plymouth State on October 30, 2021, in the season opener at Hanaway Rink.
• Sophomore Wyatt George recorded a goal in his collegiate debut for the Beavers and Ryan Black '22 and Mike Egan '22 along with senior James Perullo each contributed an assist. Brad Arvanitis '22G stopped 33 of 34 shots to earn the victory between the pipes.
• Mike McPherson '22 scored the lone goal for the Panthers and senior Niks Krollis chipped in with an assist, while junior netminder Kalle Anderson finished with 27 saves in a losing effort.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson finished with a 20-6-2 overall record and an 11-5-2 mark in the NEHC in 2021-22 and captured its first NEHC championship since back-to-back crowns in 2013 and 2014 and seventh overall.
• Despite losing 15 players to graduation, the Green and White return a strong group of 12 experienced veterans from last year's squad and welcome a contingent of 14 talented newcomers to the team under head coach Jamie Rice '90.
• Kramer (11-13-24) is the top returning scorer after being named to the NEHC All-Rookie team last year. George (6-7-13) and senior Chris Rooney (8-4-12) were also regulars in the Beaver lineup, and Perullo (1-10-11) and junior Colby Bailey (1-8-9) are top returning defensemen.
• Senior Nolan Hildebrand is the only experienced goalie after making three starts last season and six in his career, posting a record of 5-2 with a 2.52 GAA and a .903 save percentage.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
• Plymouth State wrapped up last season with a 19-6-2 overall record and a 14-2-2 mark in the MASCAC and captured its third straight MASCAC championship and fifth overall since 2012.
• The Panthers return 19 players from last year's squad and welcome seven newcomers to the team under head coach Craig Russell '03.
• Senior Myles Abbate (17-23-40) returns after earning Third Team All-America East and MASCAC Player of the Year honors in 2021-22. Junior Jeromey Rancourt (12-4-16), sophomore Ethan Stuckless (4-12-16) and senior Jacob Laurin (7-8-15) are also key returning forwards and senior Ted Austin (2-15-17) and junior Colin Tracy (0-10-10) are the top veteran defensemen.
• Andersson (12-4-1, 2.48 GAA, .912) started 17 games for the Panthers last year, and senior Brendahn Brawley (6-2-1, 1.55 GAA, .948) got the nod nine times.

ROAD TO THE CONFERENCE TITLE
• Babson captured the NEHC title a year ago as the No. 4 seed, defeating fifth-seeded and 14th-seeded Norwich on home ice in overtime in the quarterfinals, 2-1; upsetting second-seeded and seventh-ranked Elmira in the semifinals in overtime, 3-2, in western New York; and topping sixth-seeded Skidmore, 5-3, in the final before a capacity crowd inside the Babson Skating Center.
• Plymouth State won the MASCAC regular season title and earned a first-round bye in the play-offs; doubled up seventh-seeded Framingham State, 8-4, in the semifinals; and knocked off sixth-seeded Salem State, 8-4, in the final, both games at Hanaway Rink.

SKATING IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT  
• Making its 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, No. 5 Babson shut out No. 14 Trinity, 3-0, in a first-round game at the Babson Skating Center. The Beavers traveled to Geneseo for the quarterfinals but saw a third period rally fall short in a 3-2 setback, falling one game shy of advancing to the Division III Frozen Four.
• Making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, 15th-ranked PSU took a 2-0 first-period lead at No. 8 University of New England before suffering a heartbreaking 3-2 double-overtime loss in Biddeford, Maine.

HEAD COACHES
• Head coach Jamie Rice '90, in his 19th season behind the Beaver bench, has guided the program to an overall record of 290-145-3 (.652), four ECAC East Tournament championships and the 2022 NEHC Tournament title. A three-time conference coach of the year and Edward Jeremiah Award finalist, and 2007 New England Coach of the Year, Rice has led the program to six NCAA Tournament berths, including national quarterfinal appearances in 2013, 2014 and 2022.
• Plymouth State is guided by 13th-year head coach Craig Russell '03, who has recorded an overall record of 195-83-27 (.684), while claiming nine MASCAC regular season titles and five MASCAC Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. PSU has advanced to the MASCAC title game in nine of his 11 seasons.

SEASON OPENERS
• Babson has won two straight and three of its last four season openers and is 6-3 in season debuts since 2013.
• The Beavers have a 7-1-1 record in home openers since 2013 and 13-4-3 in the first game of the season at the Babson Skating Center since 2002.

PRESEASON POLLS
• The Beavers were picked to finish tied for fifth in the NEHC preseason coaches' poll, while PSU is the preseason favorite to win a fourth straight MASCAC title, receiving five of the seven first-place votes.
• Babson is ranked seventh in the USCHO.com preseason Division III poll, while the Panthers are receiving votes in the poll.
• Four NEHC teams are ranked in the top 15 of the Division III poll (No. 5 Hobart, No. 7 Babson, No. 9 Elmira, No. 15 Norwich) and two others are receiving votes (New England College, UMass Boston).

HOME ICE ADVANTAGE
• The Beavers finished 10-2-2 at the Babson Skating Center in 2021-22 and won all five home games in a Covid-shortened season in 2020-21.
• Babson is 41-12-4 on home ice since 2017-18 and is 89-16-9 at home since February of 2013.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers went 14-3-1 last season when scoring the first goal of the game and finished 10-2-1 when leading after the first period and 11-0-1 when ahead after two periods.
• Babson finished 12-0-1 when allowing two goals or less last year and is 59-1-6 since 2017-18 when allowing no more than two goals.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers open defense of their NEHC title next weekend with a trip to western New York to take on No. 5 Hobart on November 4 and No. 9 Elmira on November 5.