GORHAM, Maine— Graduate student Paul Boutoussov (Dana Point, Calif.) and senior Matt Wiesner (Newport Beach, Calif.) each matched their season highs with three points on two goals and one assist as No. 8 Babson College wrapped up the regular season Saturday afternoon with a 6-2 victory over the University of Southern Maine in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) men's ice hockey game inside the USM Ice Arena.

With its third consecutive win, Babson completes the regular season at 16-5-2 overall and 11-5-2 in league play, while Southern Maine dropped its sixth game in a row to slip to 7-13-1 overall and 5-10-1 in the NEHC. The Beavers clinched the fourth seed in the upcoming NEHC Tournament and USM will be the eighth seed.

The Beavers also got a goal and an assist from senior Max Torrez (Framingham, Mass.) and one goal from junior Chris Rooney (Milton, Mass.). Seniors Ryan Campbell (Scituate, Mass.) and Jack Nisbet Scituate, Mass.) and first-year Wyatt George (Mount Lebanon, Pa.) each picked up an assist, and graduate student Brad Arvanitis (Holliston, Mass.) made 20 saves in goal to earn the win.

Senior Jonathan Bartuccio-Pereira (St. Bruno, Que.) led the Huskies with a goal and an assist, while senior Brendan Dowler (New Preston, Conn.) scored once and junior Curtis Judd (Newton, Mass.) earned one assist. First-year Kyle Penton (Waltham, Mass.) made 39 saves in the setback for USM.

Boutoussov put the Beavers on the scoreboard with a power play goal with four minutes to go in the first period, slamming home a rebound of his own shot from the slot. Dowler evened things up in the first minute of the second period, tipping in a shot in the front of the net to tie the score.

The Beavers exploded with four goals in less than 11 minutes in the second period to seize control of the game. Wiesner started the rally at 3:05, splitting the defense and firing a wrister past the goalie from the high slot. Torrez made it 3-1 with a shorthanded goal at 9:58, snapping a shot over Penton's shoulder from the slot. Boutoussov tacked on his second of the game and 11th of the season at 12:34 with a power play goal from the doorstep, finishing off a feed from Wiesner on the right side. Rooney finished off the barrage at 13:45, firing in a rebound from the left side after Penton's save on a shot from the point by Campbell.

Wiesner wrapped up the Babson scoring with 3:30 remaining in the third with his second of the game and 10th of the season from the slot, converting a pass from Boutoussov from behind the net. Bartuccio-Pereira tacked on a power play goal for the Huskies in the final minute to account for the 6-2 final.

Babson finished with a 45-22 advantage in shots on goal. The Beavers went 2-for-7 on the power play while killing three of four man-down situations and scoring a shorthanded goal.

Fourth-seeded Babson will host fifth-seeded Norwich on Saturday, February 19, at 7 p.m. in a quarterfinal game at the Babson Skating Center. Eighth-seeded USM will host ninth-seeded Castleton Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a first-round game

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 34-9-1 all-time against Southern Maine, which includes 20 wins in the last 21 games between the teams.
• Babson scored at least six goals for the sixth time this season, going 6-0 in those games.
• Wiesner has produced six goals and four assists for 10 points in seven career games versus Southern Maine.