Men's Ice Hockey vs. UMass Boston
Saturday, February 18 | 4 p.m.
Babson Skating Center | Babson Park, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 49-22-6 all-time against UMass Boston in a series that dates back to the 1978-79 season.
• The teams split the two games this season, the Beavers earning a 5-2 victory inside the Babson Skating Center back on November 11 and the Beacons taking a 3-1 triumph inside the Edward T. Barry Rink on January 21.
• The Beavers have won eight of the last 10 games over UMB at the Babson Skating Center going back to the 2013-14 season.
LAST MEETING
• Sophomore Kolye Bankauskas scored a pair of goals, including the game-sealing empty-netter in the final minute as UMass Boston knocked off No. 12 Babson, 3-1, on January 21 in Boston.
• Junior Thomas Kramer scored the lone goal for Babson in the third period to pull the Beavers to within a goal, with assists from first-years Nolan Dion and Egan Schmitt. Senior goalie Nolan Hildebrand made 17 saves in goal in the setback.
• First-year Jazz Krivtsov also scored for the Beacons, junior Jacob Banks added a pair of assists and sophomore Ty Mathews chipped in with one helper. First-year transfer goalie Darius Bell made 27 saves in the win for the Beacons.
LAST TIME AT THE BABSON SKATING CENTER
• Kramer and Schmitt each tallied a goal and an assist as No. 8 Babson built a 5-0 lead on the way to a 5-2 victory over UMass Boston back on November 11, 2022.
• Senior James Perullo and first-years Mike Stevens and Ian Driscoll scored for the Beavers, with Driscoll potting his first collegiate goal. First-year Danny Cavanagh, sophomore Wyatt George and graduate student Max Torrez collected assists for the Green and White and Hildebrand made 27 saves in goal in the win.
• First-year Mike Manzo scored his first collegiate goal in the third period to put the Beacons on the board and classmate Grady Friedman followed with his fourth of the season. Krivtsov and senior Nick Daluisio tallied assists for the Beacons, while senior goalie Sam Best made 21 saves on 25 shots in the first 40 minutes and graduate student Liam Murray stopped two of the three shots he faced in the third period.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Third-seeded Babson (15-8-2, 10-6-2) heads into the playoffs after a 6-2 victory over Southern Maine in the regular season finale last Saturday inside the Babson Skating Center
• Junior defenseman Colby Bailey registered his first career two-goal game and Dion and Cavanagh each scored their first career goal to lead the Beavers. Cavanagh and Driscoll each finished with a goal and an assist, Perullo scored once, first-year Charlie Andriole collected two assists, and Hildebrand made 14 saves in the victory.
• Kramer (8-15-23) is tied for fifth in the NEHC in scoring and tied for third in assists while Murphy (8-10-18) is second in the conference in scoring by first-years. Perullo (8-16-24) is tied for fourth in the league in scoring by a defenseman and Dion (1-10-11) is tops in the NEHC in assists among first-year blueliners.
• Hildebrand (13-5-2, 1.69 GAA, .937 sv. pct.), who has started 12 straight games and 15 of the last 16 for the Beavers, is second in the NEHC in victories and is ranked ninth in Division III in goals against average and 10th in save percentage.
SCOUTING THE BEACONS
• Sixth-seeded UMass Boston (11-14-0, 8-10-0 NEHC) dropped its final two regular season games last weekend at home, falling to Skidmore on Friday evening 2-1 in overtime and to Castleton on Saturday afternoon, 4-1.
• Bankauskas scored the lone goal in the first period in Friday's setback before Skidmore tied the game in the third period and scored the game-winner in OT. Junior Jacob Banks again gave the Beacons a 1-0 first-period lead on Saturday before Castleton potted four unanswered goals. Senior Sam Best made 34 saves in the tough-luck loss on Friday and stopped 23 shots in Saturday's setback.
• Manzo (4-11-15) leads the team in assists and points while junior Evan Googins (7-7-14) tops the squad in goals and power play markers (5), which is tied for second in the NEHC. Krivtsov (5-7-12) and Banks (5-5-10) have also reached double figures in points.
• Best started 18 of the team's 25 games, posting a 2.55 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. He has allowed two or fewer goals in eight of his last 11 starts.
BABSON IN THE POSTSEASON
• The Beavers, who are hosting a conference quarterfinal for the 11th year in a row, knocked off 14th-ranked Norwich, 2-1, in last year's first round on an overtime goal by senior Andrew Holland. Babson went on to capture its seventh conference championship with a semifinal overtime win at seventh-ranked Elmira, 3-2, and a title game triumph over Skidmore, 5-3.
• Since 2001, Babson has failed to advance out of the quarterfinals just four times (2002, 2008, 2012, 2020).
• The Green and White reached the conference final eight times in 10 seasons from 2007-16 before returning to the title game last year.
• Babson has captured seven conference championships - 1984, 1992, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2022.
UMASS BOSTON IN THE POSTSEASON
• The Beacons are making their 24th straight conference tournament appearance and 31st overall dating back to the 1980-81 season.
• Third-seeded UMB was upset by sixth-seeded Skidmore in last year's quarterfinal game, 5-3, despite outshooting the Thoroughbreds, 42-28.
• The Beacons captured the ECAC Tournament championship back in 1982 and won the NEHC regular season and tournament titles in 2016 on their way to the NCAA Frozen Four. UMB also won the NEHC regular season crown in 2019 and went on to compete in the NCAA Tournament.
PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE
• The Beavers have seven players who have recorded at least one point in previous playoff appearances, led by George (2-0-2), senior Rory Casey (2-0-2), and Kramer (0-2-2), who tallied assists in both NCAA Tournament games in 2022.
• Andrew Holland (1-0-1) scored the overtime game-winner last year against Norwich. Perullo (0-1-1), Bailey (0-1-1) and sophomore Matt Cormier (0-1-1) have one helper apiece.
NEHC PLAYOFFS
• The other conference quarterfinal games include #8 Castleton at #1 Hobart, #7 New England College at #2 Skidmore, and #5 Skidmore at #4 Elmira.
• The conference will re-seed the surviving teams for the semifinal round games, which are slated for Saturday, February 25. The championship game is on tap of Saturday, March 4, at the site of the highest remaining seed.
POSTSEASON HONORS HAVE BEGUN
• Postseason honors have begun to roll in for the Beavers, as Kramer and Perullo were named All-NEHC Second Team, Hildebrand earned Third Team recognition, and Dion was voted to the All-Rookie Team.
• Kramer and Perullo were also among the 33 players selected as semifinalists for the 22nd Joe Concannon Award as announced by the Greater Gridiron Club of Boston, presented annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/III hockey player in New England.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 12-2-1 this season when scoring the first goal of the game and 31-5-2 with the first goal over the past three seasons.
• Babson is 10-1 this season when leading after the second period, and 44-1-1 when leading after two periods the past four seasons.
• The Green and White are 14-2-1 this season when scoring three goals or more, and 55-6-2 with at least three goals since the start of the 2019-20 season.
• Babson is 11-3-1 this season when scoring on the power play, and 32-6-2 with a PPG over the past three seasons.
