No. 7 Men's Ice Hockey at No. 3 Hobart
Friday, November 4 | 7 p.m.
The Cooler | Geneva, N.Y.
No. 7 Men's Ice Hockey at No. 11 Elmira
Saturday, November 5 | 4 p.m.
Murray Athletic Center | Pine Valley, N.Y.
BABSON: Roster | Schedule & Results | Stats
HOBART: Roster | Schedule & Results | Stats
ELMIRA: Roster | Schedule & Results | Stats
NEHC: Standings | Schedule & Results | Stats
USCHO: Division III Poll
WHAT TO KNOW
• Babson begins defense of it 2022 New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) championship this weekend when the No. 7-ranked Beavers venture to western New York to take on a pair of nationally-ranked opponents.
• The Beavers visit defending NEHC regular season champion and No. 3 ranked Hobart on Friday night in Geneva, N.Y., and play at defending regular season runner-up and No. 11 ranked Elmira in Pine Valley, N.Y. Saturday afternoon for the first two conference encounters of the 2022-23 campaign.
SERIES HISTORY
vs. Hobart
• Babson is 11-6-5 all-time against the Statesmen in a series that dates back to the 1987-88 season, and 4-3-3 in 10 meetings inside The Cooler.
• The Beavers' 5-3 victory at No. 5 Hobart last January 16 was their first in eight outings against the Statesmen, going 0-4-3 in the previous seven.
• The Green and White also skated to a 2-2 tie against Hobart in Babson Park on November 6, 2021.
vs. Elmira
• Babson is 6-6-0 all-time against the Soaring Eagles in a series that dates back to 1977-78.
• The Beavers faced Elmira three times last season after the Soaring Eagles joined the NEHC for the 2021-22 season. The third game was an NEHC Tournament semifinal on February 26 with Babson pulling out a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory in Pine Valley, N.Y.
• The home team won both regular season games last season, with the Beavers winning 6-3 on November 5 inside the Babson Skating Center and the Soaring Eagles taking the January 15 matchup 5-3 in the Murray Center.
LAST MEETING
vs. Hobart
• Babson used a three-goal second period and Paul Boutoussov '22G and Matt Wiesner '22 had a goal and finished with three points apiece to help sixth-ranked Babson defeat No. 5 Hobart, 5-3, on January 16 inside The Cooler.
• Senior James Perullo and sophomore Wyatt George both recorded a goal and an assist and Ryan Black '22 scored once for the Beavers Brad Arvanitis '22G made 36 saves to earn the win in goal.
• Senior PA Martineau and junior Brenden Howell tallied goals for the Statesmen, and senior Joe Halstrom made 32 saves in goal.
vs. Elmira
• Black scored the game-winning goal nearly 19 minutes into overtime as No. 8 and fourth-seeded Babson pulled off a 3-2 upset victory over No. 7 and second-seeded Elmira in as NEHC semifinal game inside the Murray Athletic Center.
• Black finished with a goal and an assist, including his NCAA-leading eighth game-winning goal of the season. Mike Egan '22 tallied a goal and an assist and classmate Matt Wiesner '22 scored one goal, while John Corrigan '22 collected two assists. Arvanitis matched his career high with 47 saves on 49 shots for the Beavers, including 11 in the third period and 11 more in overtime.
• Adam Eby '22G and junior Shawn Kennedy scored the scored the Elmira goals, and juniors Bailey Krawczyk, Chance Gorman and Jordan Gonzalez collected assists. Chris Janzen '22G made 41 saves in goal, including nine in the third period and 12 in overtime.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 7 Babson (1-0-0, 0-0-0) opened the season with a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory over Plymouth State last Saturday inside the Babson Skating Center.
• First-year Egan Schmitt tallied a goal and an assist, including his first career goal in overtime, to lead the Beavers. Perullo scored once, first-year Mike Stevens tallied his first career goal, and senior Andrew Holland, junior Thomas Kramer and first-years Will Holland and Ian Driscoll all collected assists.
• Kramer (11-13-24 in 2021-22) 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.
• Hildebrand made his seventh career start against PSU and made 28 saves to improve his collegiate record to 6-2 with a 2.43 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
SCOUTING THE STATESMEN
• No. 5 Hobart (2-0-0, 0-0-0 NEHC) opened the season with a pair of non-conference victories over No. 13 Oswego State (5-2) and SUNY Potsdam (7-2) last weekend at The Cooler.
• Sophomore Luke Aquaro and junior Tanner Hartman shared game-high honors against Oswego with a goal and an assist in the victory. First-year Damon Beaver played all 60 minutes in goal and made 20 saves in his collegiate debut.
• Junior Jonah Alexander (1g, 2a) led the way for Hobart in the win over Potsdam, recording three points. Sophomore Matthew Iasenza notched a pair of goals in the victory. First-year Mavrick Goyer made his collegiate debut in goal and made 19 saves.
• The Statesmen finished 20-6-2 last season (13-2-2 NEHC) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
SCOUTING THE SOARING EAGLES
• No. 11 Elmira (1-1-0, 0-0-0 NEHC) splits its first two games last Saturday to open the season, defeating Nazareth 3-1 in Friday's opener but falling to No. 13 Oswego in Saturday's matchup, 5-2.
• Junior Ryan Reifler and juniors Kennedy and Janis Vizbelis scored for Elmira in the win over Nazareth. Senior Jeffrey Zero picked up the win in his first career start, making 14 saves on 15 attempts.
• Vizbelis scored his second goal of the season in the loss at Oswego, while Graham Denomme '23 notched the first of the year. Zero went the distance in goal and finished with 29 saves in the setback.
• The Soaring Eagles finished 18-7-2 last season (11-4-2 NEHC) and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.
PRESEASON POLLS
• Hobart and Elmira finished 1-2 in the NEHC preseason coaches' poll, receiving seven and two first-place votes, respectively, while the Beavers were picked tied for fifth in the voting.
• Babson is ranked seventh in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll, while Hobart is ranked third and Elmira checks in at No. 11.
• Norwich is a fourth NEHC team ranked in the top 15 of the Division III poll, sitting at No. 13.
NEHC HONOR
• Schmitt was rewarded for his strong collegiate debut on Monday when he was named NEHC Rookie of the Week in the first round of weekly awards.
• The rookie forward produced a goal and an assist for two points in Babson's OT win over Plymouth State, picking up his first collegiate point with an assist on the game-tying goal early in the third period and then scoring his first career goal 3:47 into overtime.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers went 10-4 on the road last season, won all three road games in a Covid-shortened 2020-21 campaign, and are 22-6-2 away from home going back to the start of the 2019-20 season.
• The Green and White 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 return to the Babson Skating Center to host their first two conference home games against UMass Boston on November 11 and Johnson & Wales on November 12.
