No. 7 Men's Ice Hockey vs. Norwich | Friday, February 4 | 7 p.m.
Babson Skating Center | Babson Park, Mass.
No. 7 Men's Ice Hockey vs. New England College | Saturday, February 5 | 4 p.m.
Babson Skating Center | Babson Park, Mass.
THE SETUP
• The Beavers open a four-game home stand this weekend with key New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) games at the Babson Skating Center Friday against Norwich and Saturday vs. New England College.
• Babson is in third place in a tight NEHC playoff race, just one point behind second-place UMass Boston and two back of league-leading Hobart while sitting just one point ahead of fourth-place Skidmore and two in front of both Elmira and Norwich.
SERIES HISTORY
vs. Norwich
• The Beavers are 26-45-7 all-time against Norwich in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 campaign.
• Babson's 6-4 victory over the Cadets back on December 4 snapped a four-game losing skid in the career series.
• The Green and White have won four of the last six over Norwich in the Babson Skating Center.
vs. New England College
• Babson is 45-23-8 all-time against New England College in a series that dates back to 1977.
• NEC's 4-1 victory over Babson back on January 18 in Henniker, N.H. snapped a five-game losing streak to the Beavers.
• Babson is 4-0-1 in the last five against the Pilgrims on home ice, dating back to the 2017-18 season.
EARLIER THIS SEASON
vs. Norwich
• Sophomore Thomas Kramer recorded a natural hat trick in the third period, including the game-winning goal with 49.9 seconds remaining and an empty-netter 26 seconds to play, as No. 9 Babson came from behind to defeat No. 6 Norwich, 6-4, on December 4, 2021 afternoon at Kreitzberg Arena.
• The Beavers also got a goal and an assist each from graduate student Paul Boutoussov and senior Matt Wiesner and a goal from senior Jack Nisbet. Junior Nolan Hildebrand made 17 saves in goal to post the victory.
• Senior Noah Williams scored two goals to lead the Cadets, while first-year Bryan O'Meara added a goal and an assist and classmate Isaac Chapman scored once. Junior Andrew Albano finished with 24 saves in the setback.
• Babson finished with a 30-21 advantage in shots, including 23-14 after the first period, and both teams scored twice on the power play.
vs. New England College
• Junior Alex LaPlante recorded his first career hat trick as New England College upset No. 5 Babson, 4-1, just two weeks ago (January 18) at Lee Clement Arena.
• First-year Wyatt George scored the only goal for Babson in the opening minute of the game, and graduate student goalie Brad Arvanitis made 26 saves for the Beavers in the loss.
• In addition to LaPlante, the Pilgrims got one goal from junior Chris Lee and two assists each from senior Bernie McGovern and sophomore Linus Udd Hellgren. Senior Andrew Kormos posted the victory in goal with 24 saves.
• The Pilgrims finished with a 30-25 advantage in shots on goal, and both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 7 Babson (13-4-2, 8-4-2 NEHC) brings a four-game winning streak into the weekend after sweeping Skidmore and Castleton in NEHC road games last weekend.
• Kramer scored a pair of third-period goals less than four minutes apart Friday to lift Babson to a 3-2 victory over Skidmore. Junior Rory Casey also scored his first career goal for the Beavers and Arvanitis made 26 saves in goal.
• Black registered two goals and one assist, including his 100th career point, to lead Babson to a 5-1 victory over Castleton on Saturday. Senior Mike Egan tallied a goal and an assist and classmates John Corrigan and Hunter Garlasco added empty-net goals late in the third period. Arvanitis made 21 saves to record his third straight win in goal.
• The Beavers are ranked eighth in Division III in power-play percentage, converting 27.9 percent with the man advantage, and 11th in scoring offense with 4.11 goals per game.
SCOUTING THE CADETS
• Norwich (10-4-4, 7-4-3 NEHC) is looking to make a move in the NEHC playoff race after a 3-2 overtime victory at New England College on Sunday in its only game of the weekend.
• Sophomore defenseman Joe Nagle scored 3:58 into overtime in the win over NEC. Senior Brett Ouderkirk and freshman Clark Kerner also tallied goals for the Cadets, and senior Drennen Atherton made 21 saves in goal to improve to 5-1-4 on the season.
• First-year Clark Kerner (11-11-22) leads the team in goals and points and senior Devon Becker (2-19-21) is second in the NEHC in assists. Ouderkirk (10-9-19) and senior Noah Williams (7-9-16) also average at least one point per game on the season.
• The Cadets lead Division III in power play percentage (35.0), scoring 28 goals on 78 attempts with the man advantage, and rank 12th in scoring offense with 4.0 goals per game.
SCOUTING THE PILGRIMS
• New England College (10-7-1, 5-7-1 NEHC) is looking to bounce back after a 3-2 overtime loss to then-No. 13 Norwich on Sunday in its only game of the weekend.
• LaPlante scored both goals for the Pilgrims, including one at 15:19 of the third period to send the game to OT, and senior Spencer Kozlowski made a career-high 53 saves, including one on a breakaway in the extra session before Norwich potted the game-winner.
• LaPlante (14-8-22) shares the NEHC lead in goals and senior Trevor Momot (8-11-19) and sophomore Anthony Cinato (3-11-14) are tied for the team lead in assists. Senior Connor Inger (7-10-17) is also a solid contributor on offense.
• Kormos (7-3, 2.41 GAA, .930 Sv Pct) and Kozlowski (3-4-1, 1.97, .941) have split time in goal.
BABSON VS. THE OPPONENTS
• Egan has stats of 8-4-12 in nine career games against New England College, with three two-goal games. He had a seven-game points streak against NEC stopped in the first game against the Pilgrims this season.
• Black has stats 4-12-16 in nine career games vs. NEC, with six multi-points games. He had an eight-game points streak against NEC stopped in the first game against the Pilgrims this season.
• Wiesner has three goals and one assist in six career games against Norwich, and four goals and three assists in nine career contests vs. NEC.
100-POINT MAN
• Black became the 21st player in Babson history to reach the 100-point milestone in Saturday's win over Castleton, upping his career totals to 43 goals and 57 assists.
• The left winger is the first Babson player to reach 100 points for his career since Jason Schneider '11 in 2011.
• The 100 points ties Black for 19th on the program's career list with Brad Baldelli '09 and Ed Gavin '84.
NEHC HONORS
• Babson took home the NEHC Player and Goaltender of the Week honors on Monday, with Black and Arvanitis both winning the honor for the second time this season after previously being honored on November 8.
• The other Beavers to receive conference weekly accolades this season are Kramer, who was Rookie of the Week on November 29 and both Player and Rookie of the Week on December 6, and Wiesner, who took the top honor on January 17.
POLL POSITION
• Six of the 10 schools in the NEHC are ranked (3) or receiving votes (3) in this week's USCHO.com Division III poll – No. 6 Hobart, No. 7 Babson, and No. 9 Elmira are in the top 15, and Norwich, UMass Boston and New England College are among others receiving votes.
• The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (No. 1 Adrian, No. 5 St. Norbert, No.12 Aurora) also has three in the top 15, and the State University of New York Athletic Conference (No. 2 Geneseo, No. 13 Oswego), the Commonwealth Coast Conference (No. 10 Univ. of New England, No. 14 Curry) and the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (No. 3 Utica, No. 8 Wilkes) have two each.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 9-2-1 this season when scoring the first goal of the game and 29-3-1 with the first goal over the past three seasons.
• Babson is 7-0-1 this season when leading after the second period, and 40-0-2 when leading after two periods the past four seasons.
• The Green and White are 12-3-1 this season when scoring three goals or more, and 35-4-1 with at least three goals since the start of the 2019-20 season.
• Babson is 9-2-1 this season when scoring on the power play, and 28-5-2 with a PPG over the past three seasons.
A LOOK AHEAD
• The Beavers will wrap up the regular season next week with a non-conference home game Tuesday against Williams and a home-and-home set next weekend against NEHC foe Southern Maine, Friday at the Babson Skating Center and Saturday in Gorham, Maine.
