BABSON PARK, Mass.— Senior Brett Ouderkirk (Monkland, Ontario) scored a power play goal a minute and 29 seconds into overtime Friday evening to give Norwich University a 3-2 victory over No. 7 Babson College in a key New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) men's ice hockey game inside the Babson Skating Center.

With the victory, Norwich won for the fifth time in its last six games to improve to 11-4-4 overall and 8-4-3 in the NEHC while Babson had its four-game winning streak stopped and fell to 13-5-2 overall and 8-5-2 in conference games.

The Beavers got goals from senior Trevor Marcinick (Dublin, Ohio) and graduate student Paul Boutoussov (Dana Point, Calif.) while senior Jack Nisbet (Scituate, Mass.), junior James Perullo (Revere, Mass.) and first-year Wyatt George (Mount Lebanon, Pa.) each recorded an assist. Graduate student Brad Arvanitis (Holliston, Mass.) made 30 saves in goal but had his three-game winning streak snapped.

Graduate student Scott Swanson (Wheaton, Ill.) and first-year Clark Kerner (Kansas City, Kan.) joined Ouderkirk in the scoring column for the Cadets, with juniors Callum Jones (Burlington, Ont.) and Philip Elgstam (Stockholm, Sweden), sophomore Logan vande Meerakker (Dieppe New Brunswick) and senior Keegan Mantaro (Monument, Colo.) earning assists. Senior Drennen Atherton (Winter Haven, Fla.) earned the victory with 21 saves in the Norwich goal.

Marcinick gave the Beavers a lead midway through the first period, picking up a loose puck near the right side of the goal and lunging across the crease before knocking in his third goal of the season.

The Cadets outshot Babson 17-5 in the second period and scored twice to take the lead. Swanson pounded in a power play goal from in tight to tie the score at 3:38, and Kerner stuffed in a shot for the visitors at the 10:12 mark to put Norwich up, 2-1.

The Beavers evened things up at 2-2 at 6:47 of the third period, capitalizing on a five-minute major power play. Boutoussov, parked in front of the goalie, picked up a blocked shot and spun around before sliding the puck between pads of Atherton for his seventh of the season to knot the score at 2-2.

A major penalty then went in favor for Norwich that decided the game as a Babson player was whistled off with 27 seconds remaining in the regulation. Skating on a 4-on-3 power play in overtime, Ouderkirk snapped a wrist shot from the high slot past a screened Arvantitis for the game-winner, Ouderkirk's 11th goal of the season.

Norwich finished with a 33-23 advantage in shots on goal. Norwich went 2-for-4 on the power play while Babson went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

Both teams return to the ice Saturday at 4 p.m., as Babson hosts New England College and Norwich visits Southern Maine.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 26-46-7 all-time against Norwich in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 campaign.
• Norwich has won five of the last six against the Beavers.
• The Cadets evened the season series against the Beavers after Babson had scored three third-period goals to pull out a 6-4 victory over the Norwich back on December 4 in Northfield, Vt.
• Babson dropped to 9-3-1 when scoring first and 7-2-1 when leading after the first period.