Men's Ice Hockey at Saint Michael's
Friday, December 29 | 4 p.m.
Cairns Arena | South Burlington, Vt.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Babson returns from a three-week hiatus with a Friday matinee at Saint Michael's College in South Burlington, Vt.
• The matchup against the Purple Knights will be the final non-conference game of the season as the Green and White will play New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) competition the rest of the way.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 24-3-1 all-time against the Purple Knights in a series that dates back to the 1998-99 season.
• Friday's game is the first meeting against Saint Mike's in South Burlington since a 4-2 loss in 2016, which snapped Babson's 18-game unbeaten streak (17-0-1) in the series.
• The Green and White are 9-1-1 on the Purple Knight's home ice with six of the wins coming by at least three goals.

LAST MEETING
• Senior Thomas Kramer tallied two goals and two assists for a career-high four points and 13 players recorded at least one point as No. 12 Babson overpowered Saint Michael's, 9-1, on December 20, 2022 inside the Babson Skating Center.
• Sophomore Ryan Murphy produced two goals and an assist, Max Torrez '23M, Andrew Holland '23 and junior Wyatt George contributed a goal and an assist each, and Chris Rooney '23 and sophomore Mike Stevens added one goal apiece. Sophomore Brendan Kennedy collected three assists, classmates Nolan Dion and Egan Schmitt each earned a pair of helpers, and Nolan Hildebrand '23 made 17 saves in goal to record the win.
• Senior Zach Taylor scored the lone goal for the Purple Knights, with assists from sophomore Quinn McCarthy and junior Case Kantgias. Sophomore goalie Cole Manahan made 21 saves in 35 minutes of relief of senior Marshall Murphy, who made 12 saves in the first 24 minutes.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (6-5-2, 5-1-1 NEHC) went into the semester break following a 5-2 setback to No. 13 Skidmore after taking a 1-0 lead into the third period back on December 2 at the Babson Skating Center.
• George and Schmitt each had a goal in the loss, while sophomores Will Holland and Dion and first-year Jimmy Fallon each produced an assist for the Beavers. Sophomore Nate Mueller made 26 saves in goal.
• Murphy (6-7-13) has at least one point in nine of his 13 games and owns a team-high +9 ranking while Schmitt (8-4-12) has four goals and two assists in his last three outings. Kramer (5-4-9) has a pair of multi-goal games, George (3-6-9) is tied for third on the team in assists and points, Fallon (3-5-8) is among the top five in the NEHC in scoring by a first-year.
• Mueller (2.92 GAA, .907 Sv. Pct.) has started nine games for the Beavers while first-year Mason Rosado (2.91 GAA, .887 Sv. Pct.) has gotten the nod in goal with four starts.

SCOUTING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS
• Saint Michael's (7-6-0, 5-3-0 NE10) will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak in its first game since a 4-1 loss to SUNY Canton back on December 8 at Cairns Arena.
• Sophomore Kyle Lee netted his first career goal for the Purple Knights, with assists from senior Gabriel Gagnon and first-year Hans Forselius. Manahan made 32 saves in the setback.
• Junior Brennan McFarland (6-9-15) had a six-game point streak stopped against Canton. Kantgias (8-5-13) leads the team in goals and junior David Ciancio (4-9-13) shared the team assist lead with McFarland. McCarthy (4-8-12), Taylor (6-5-11) and junior Ryland Dukes (3-8-11) are also double digit point scorers.
• Murphy (7-4-0, 4.15 GAA, .880 sv. pct) has started 11 of the team's 13 games with Manahan (0-2, 4.49 GAA, .897sv. pct) getting a pair of starts.

OFFENSELY SPEAKING
• The Beavers' 43 goals this season have come from 16 different players, including three first-years scoring their first career goal.
• The sophomores have accounted for 23 of the goals while the juniors have tallied eight goals and the seniors and first-years have tallied six each.
• The Green and White are 6-1-1 this season when scoring at least three goals and are 41-6-3 over the past three seasons with at least three goals.

BUSY BEAVERS
• Holland has recorded a point in four straight games and five of his last six.
• Cormier has scored a goal in four of his last eight games with five goals in that span.
• Fallon is riding a four-game point streak, collecting two goals and three assists in his last four outings.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Green and White are 4-1 when leading after the first period and are 14-2-1 over the past two seasons when taking a lead into the second period.
• The Beavers are 4-2 this season when scoring the first goal of the game and 19-4-1 since last season when drawing first blood.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers return to NEHC action in 2024 with five straight road games, beginning at New England College on January 5 and No. 11 Norwich on January 6.