BABSON PARK, Mass.— Senior Ryan Black (Pomfret, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway three minutes and 28 seconds into overtime Saturday afternoon as No. 7 Babson College edged New England College 5-4, in a key New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) men's ice hockey game inside the Babson Skating Center.

With the victory, Babson improves to 14-5-2 overall and 9-5-2 in conference play, while NEC, which overcame 2-0 and 4-2 deficits for force overtime, falls to 10-8-1 overall and 5-8-1 in the NEHC.

Graduate student Paul Boutoussov (Dana Point, Calif.) scored two goals for the Beavers, while Black finished with a goal and an assist and senior Mike Egan (Billerica, Mass.) and sophomore Thomas Kramer (Bridgewater, Mass.) scored once each. First-year Wyatt George (Mount Lebanon, Pa.) collected two assists and graduate student Brad Arvanitis (Holliston, Mass.) made 30 saves in goal to earn the win.

Senior Connor Inger (Macomb, Mich.) scored a pair of goals and added an assist for the Pilgrims and junior Alex LaPlante (Londonderry, N.H.) tallied a goal and an assist. Senior Chris Maratea (Marlton, N.J.) also scored for the visitors, and grad student C.J. Valerian (Gates Mills, Ohio) finished with three assists. Senior Andrew Kormos (Milford, Mich.) made 37 saves but suffered a tough-luck loss.

Boutoussov gave the Beavers a 2-0 lead with a pair of first-period goals. He snapped in a power play goal from the slot on a feed from George at 14:27, and fired in one from the left face-off dot after another feed from George at 17:49. Boutoussov finished off a three-goal weekend and now has nine goals on the season.

The Pilgrims answered with a pair of power play goals in the final three minutes of the second period to tie the game. LaPlante scored from the top of the left circle with 2:58 remaining in the period and Inger potted his first of the game with just 32 seconds on the clock, stuffing in a shot from the right side along the goal line.

Babson regained its two-goal lead in the first eight minutes of the third period. Egan pounced on a loose puck after a blocked shot on the left side and fired home his 10th of the season at 2:51, and Black set up Kramer with a nice feed to put Babson up 4-2 with 12 minutes remaining.

NEC would not go quietly as Maratea beat Arvanitis from the right circle at 12:37 and after the Pilgrims pulled Kormas late in the period, Inger scored on a backhander from the slot with 47 seconds remaining to force the extra frame.

The Beavers pulled out the win in OT when Arvanitis made a huge save on LaPlante on a 2-on-1 for the Pilgrims and then Babson came back in the other direction after a Pilgrim defender stumbled to send Black in on a breakaway and he finished with his 15th goal of the season.

Babson finished with a 42-34 advantage in shots on goal, and both teams went 2-for-4 on the power play.

Babson plays its third straight home game on Tuesday with a non-conference match against Williams before winding up the regular season with a home-and-home series next weekend with Southern Maine. NEC plays a home-and-home set with Southern Maine on Sunday and Tuesday and wraps up the regular season next weekend at home against No. 6 Hobart and No. 9 Elmira.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 46-23-8 all-time against New England College in a series that dates back to 1977.
• The Beavers evened the season series against NEC after the Pilgrims knocked off the Green and White 4-1 back on January 18 in Henniker, N.H.
• Babson went to overtime for the second straight night and fourth time this season, earning its first victory and improving to 1-1-2 when playing beyond the 60 minutes of regulation.
• Black's overtime goal was his sixth game-winner of the season, which leads all players in Division III.