No. 13 Men's Ice Hockey at No. 2 Hobart
NEHC Tournament Championship
Saturday, March 4 | 7 p.m.
The Cooler | Geneva, N.Y.

SETTING THE STAGE
• No. 13 and third-seeded Babson looks to defend its NEHC championship against second-ranked and top-seeded Hobart on Saturday in Geneva, N.Y.
• The Beavers have won seven conference titles, including a 5-3 win over Skidmore in the final a year ago, while the Statesmen, NEHC regular season champs the past two seasons, have won six conference crowns, the last in 2017-18.
• Babson is playing in its 19th conference championship game going back to 1983, while Hobart advanced to the title game for the fifth time in the last six seasons, the first time at home.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 11-8-5 all-time against the Statesmen in a series that dates back to the 1987-88 season, including 3-7-5 since the 2015-16 campaign.
• The Statesmen captured both games against Babson this season, both by 4-1 scores, after the Beavers took the two-game series a year ago with a 5-3 win and a 2-2 tie.
• The Green and White are 2-3-3 in eight games inside The Cooler.
• Hobart won the only post-season game between the two schools, 3-2, in the NEHC semifinals in 2018 in Geneva, N.Y.

LAST TIME OUT
• First-year Ignat Belov scored a pair of goals and No. 1 Hobart finished off the game with a pair of empty-net goals to hold off an upset bid by No. 11 Babson, 4-1, on January 14 inside the Babson Skating Center.
• First-year Brendan Kennedy scored a first-period goal for the Beavers to tie the game at 1-1 less than four minutes into the contest, with an assist from junior Thomas Kramer. Senior goalie Nolan Hildebrand made 27 saves on 29 shots in the setback for just his second loss of the season (9-2-2).
• Sophomore Matthew Iasenza and junior Autin Mourar sealed the win with empty net goals for the Statesmen. Junior Wil Crane and first-years Tanner Hartman and Tristan Fasig collected a pair of assists each, and junior Gagik Malakyan added one helper. First-year goalie Mavrick Goyer remained unbeaten in goal (8-0-0) with a 22-save effort.

LAST TIME IN THE COOLER
• Third-ranked Hobart scored a pair of power play goals and added a short-handed marker in a three-goal second period and the Statesmen went on to a 4-1 victory over No. 7 Babson on November 4, 2022.
• First-year Egan Schmitt scored his second goal of the season for Babson and Kramer and classmate Colby Bailey recorded assists. First-year Nate Mueller made his collegiate debut in goal and finished with 35 saves in the setback.
• Fasig led the Statesmen with a goal and an assist, and graduate student Zach Tyson, sophomore Luke Aquaro, and Hartman scored once each in the win. Malakyan and classmate Jonah Alexander and sophomore Cooper Swift collected assists and first-year Damon Beaver made 28 saves in goal.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (17-8-2, 10-6-2) advanced to its second straight NEHC title game with a 4-0 semifinal triumph over second-seeded Norwich last Saturday in Northfield, Vt., following a 5-1 quarterfinal victory over sixth-seeded UMass Boston on February 18 inside the Babson Skating Center.
• Hildebrand stopped all 34 shots he faced for his third career shutout and Kramer, Schmitt, first-year Will Holland and sophomore Wyatt George scored goals in the win at Norwich. Kramer and Kennedy tallied a goal and an assist each in the quarterfinal win over UMB.
• Kramer (10-17-27) is fourth in the NEHC in scoring and tied for third in assists while Murphy (8-14-22) is the leading scorer among first-years. Perullo (6-10-16) 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 (15-5-2, 1.59 GAA, .941 sv. pct.), who has started 14 straight games and 17 of the last 18 for the Beavers, is tied for the NEHC lead in victories and is ranked fifth in Division III in save percentage and eight in goals against average.

SCOUTING THE STATESMEN
• Hobart (25-5-0, 16-2-0 NEHC) punched its ticket to the title game with a 7-3 quarterfinal victory over eighth-seeded Castleton and a 1-0 nailbiter over fifth-seeded Skidmore in last Saturday's semifinal, both games on home ice inside The Cooler.
• Beaver made 26 saves and Tyson scored the only goal of the game 3:19 into the second period in the win over Skidmore as Hobart had a 29-26 advantage in shots on goal. Down 3-2 to Castleton after two periods, the Statemen erupted for five goals in the third period and finished with a 68-17 margin in shots on goal to claim the win. First-year Tanner Daniels and Aquaro had two goals each to lead the offense.
• Aquaro (17-16-33) and Alexander (14-17-31) are 1-2 in the NEHC in scoring this season and Aquaro is in the top 10 in Division III in both goals and points. Alexander and sophomore Shane Shell (3-17-20) are tied for third in the league in assists. Aquaro has scored six times on the power play, second-most in the NEHC, and owns a Division III-best six game-winners.
• Beaver (14-2-0, 1.00 GAA, .957 sv. pct., 14 starts, 7 SO) and Goyer (9-0-0, 1.41, .932, 11 starts, 2 SO) give Hobart a tremendous 1-2 punch in goal. Beaver tops Division III in goals against average, save percentage and shutouts and Goyer is fifth in GAA and 18th in save pct.

BABSON IN THE TITLE GAME
• The Green and White, who have played in 18 conference championship games, reached the final eight times in 10 seasons from 2007-16 before returning to the title game last year.
• The Beavers won four ECAC East championships in eight seasons between 2007 and 2014, defeating New England College in 2007, UMass Boston in 2009, and Norwich in 2013 and 2014, before claiming its first NEHC title a year ago.
• Babson also won two ECAC titles in 1984 and 1992 with victories over Bowdoin in 1984 and Connecticut in 1992.

HOBART IN THE POSTSEASON
• The Statesmen captured five ECAC West Tournament titles from 2004-17 (2004, 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017) and the NEHC crown in 2018. 
• Hobart, which has won five conference regular season titles, has made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to the semifinals in 2006, 2009 and 2019.

SCORING BY CLASS
• Babson has gotten goals at least three points from 21 different players this winter, including 13 first-years.
• The three Beavers seniors and one graduate student have combined for 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points, while the three juniors have teamed up for 15 goals and 25 assists for 40 points and the two sophomores have accumulated 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points.
• The 13 first-years have combined to score 44 goals with 81 assists for 125 points, accounting for 48.4 percent of the team's goals and 52.7 percent of the points.

CAREER SEASON BETWEEN THE PIPES
• In his first season as a starter, Hildebrand is enjoying one of the top seasons for a goaltender in Babson history.
• After posting his second shutout and 15th victory last Saturday at Norwich, both tied for eighth most in program history, he enters the weekend with the third-lowest goals against average and fifth-highest save percentage in a Beaver uniform.

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

BABSON VS. THE STATESMEN
• Kramer is the leading active scorer vs. Hobart with three assists in four career games.
• Perullo, Andrew Holland and George have tallied a goal and an assist each in six, five and four games, respectively. Rooney, Schmitt and Kennedy have each scored once.

POSTSEASON HONORS
• 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 15-2-1 this season when scoring the first goal of the game and 34-5-2 with the first goal over the past three seasons.
• Babson is 13-1 this season when leading after the second period, and 57-1-2 when leading after two periods the past five seasons.
• The Green and White are 17-2-1 this season when scoring three goals or more, and 58-6-2 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.