Men's Ice Hockey at No. 5 Norwich
NEHC Tournament Semifinal
Saturday, February 25 | 7 p.m.
Kreitzberg Arena | Northfield, Vt.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Beavers are 27-47-8 all-time against Norwich in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 campaign.
• The last five and 12 of the last 14 games have been decided by two goals or less, including a 1-1 deadlock back in December inside the Babson Skating Center and a 2-1 Norwich win on February 4 inside Kreitzberg Arena.
• The teams have met in the post-season 15 times since 1984, with Norwich holding an 8-7 advantage, including seven wins in 10 games in Northfield, Vt. since 2000. Babson, however, has won four of the last six playoff games against the Cadets, including last year's 2-1 overtime victory in the NEHC quarterfinals inside the Babson Skating Center.

EARLIER THIS SEASON
• Sophomore Alex Lewis and junior Patrick O'Neal tallied second-period goals four minutes apart and senior Drennen Atherton made 31 saves and held off a late comeback by No. 15 Babson in No. 8 Norwich's 2-1 win on February 4 inside Kreitzberg Arena.
• First-year Brendan Kennedy scored a late goal for the Beavers, and senior goalie Nolan Hildebrand made 30 saves in the setback.
• Junior Thomas Kramer scored for the Green and White and Hildebrand made 28 saves as No. 6 Babson skated to a 1-1 tie against No. 10 Norwich in a battle of top 10 teams back on December 2 inside the Babson Skating Center.
• Sophomore Bryan O'Mara scored for Norwich six minutes into the second period, and senior goalie Andrew Albano made 28 saves in his first appearance of the season.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Third-seeded Babson (16-8-2, 10-6-2), which is the top team receiving votes in the USCHO Division III Top 15 poll, is coming off a 5-1 victory over sixth-seeded UMass Boston in an NEHC quarterfinal last Saturday inside the Babson Skating Center.
• Kramer and Kennedy tallied a goal and an assist each, first-year Ryan Murphy collected three assists and Hildebrand made 21 saves in the victory. Graduate student Max Torrez, senior James Perullo and first-year Danny Cavanagh also scored for the Beavers. 
• Kramer (9-17-26) is fourth in the NEHC in scoring and tied for third in assists while Murphy (8-13-21) is the leading scorer among first-years. Perullo (6-9-15) is tied for fourth in the league in scoring by a defenseman and first-year Nolan Dion (1-10-11) is tops in the NEHC in assists among first-year blueliners.
• Hildebrand (14-5-2, 1.66 GAA, .938 sv. pct.), who has started 13 straight games and 16 of the last 17 for the Beavers, is second in the NEHC in victories and is ranked ninth in Division III in both goals against average and save percentage.

SCOUTING THE CADETS
• Fifth-ranked and second-seeded Norwich (19-5-2, 14-2-2 NEHC) advanced in the tournament with a 2-1 victory over seventh-seeded New England College last Saturday at Kreitzberg Arena.
• With all of the game's scoring taking place in the first period, seniors Keegan Mantaro and Braedyn Aubin scored for the Cadets and Atherton made 24 saves, including 10 in the third period, to preserve the victory.
• Sophomore Clark Kerner (8-11-19) and junior Joe Nagle (3-16-19) share the team scoring lead and first-year Johnny Johnson (8-9-17) has a team-high six power play goals. Nagle is second in scoring by a defenseman and tops the NEHC in plus/minus with a +32. O'Neal (5-11-16), senior Philip Elgstam (8-6-14) and Lewis (8-4-12) are also key scorers.
• Atherton (15-4-0, 1.42 GAA, .945 sv. pct.), the two-time NEHC Goaltender of the Year, ranks fourth in Division III in save percentage and seventh in goals against average.

BABSON IN THE POSTSEASON
• The Beavers, who are playing in the conference semifinals for the ninth time in the last 10 tournaments, have a 5-3 record in the previous eight semifinals, including a 3-2 overtime win at seventh-ranked Elmira in last year's tourney. Babson went on to capture the championship with a title game triumph over Skidmore, 5-3.
• 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.

NORWICH IN THE POSTSEASON
• The Cadets have won 14 overall NEHC titles since 1999, the most in conference history. Norwich has made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Norwich, which has won the NEHC regular season title 20 times in the past 24 years, is making a semifinal appearance for the 12th time in the past 13 seasons.
• The Cadets won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020 and have won five others in the past 11 years (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017).

PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE
• The Beavers have seven players who have recorded at least one point in previous playoff appearances, led by George (2g, 1a), senior Rory Casey (2g, 0a), and Kramer (1g, 3a), who tallied assists in both NCAA Tournament games in 2022.
• Senior Andrew Holland (1g, 0a) scored the overtime game-winner last year against Norwich. Perullo (1-1-2), Bailey (0-1-1) and sophomore Matt Cormier (0-1-1) have one helper apiece.

BABSON VS. THE CADETS
• Kramer is the leading active scorer vs. Norwich with four goals in five career games, including a hat track, while Holland has a goal and two assists in seven career contests vs. the Cadets. Perullo and George have two career assists each against Norwich.

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 14-2-1 this season when scoring the first goal of the game and 331-5-2 with the first goal over the past three seasons.
• Babson is 12-1 this season when leading after the second period, and 56-1-2 when leading after two periods the past five seasons.
• The Green and White are 16-2-1 this season when scoring three goals or more, and 57-6-2 with at least three goals since the start of the 2019-20 season.
• Babson is 13-3-1 this season when scoring on the power play, and 34-6-2 with a PPG over the past three seasons.

NEHC PLAYOFFS
• The other conference semifinal game features fifth-seeded Skidmore at top-seeded Hobart.
• The conference championship game is on tap for Saturday, March 4, at the site of the highest remaining seed.