Men's Ice Hockey vs. No. 11 Plymouth State
Saturday, November 2 | 4 p.m.
Babson Skating Center | Babson Park, Mass.

WHAT TO KNOW
• The puck drops on the 2024-25 Babson College men's ice hockey season when the Beavers welcome No. 11 Plymouth State to the Babson Skating Center on Saturday afternoon.
• The Green and White will compete in its final season in the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) before joining the Little East Conference for men's ice hockey in the 2025-26 campaign.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson leads Plymouth State 6-2-1 in the all-time series that dates back to the 2002-03 season.
• The Beavers had its five-game winning streak stopped last year in the second straight overtime affair between the two schools.
• The Beavers have won the last three meetings inside the Babson Skating Center and are 4-1 all-time against the Panthers in Babson Park.

LAST MEETING
• Senior Connor Tait scored 17 seconds into overtime to lift No. 8 Plymouth State to a 6-5 win over visiting Babson on November 4, 2023, inside Hanaway Rink in Plymouth, N.H.
• Colby Bailey '24 and juniors Ryan Murphy, Egan Schmitt, Sam Sibold and Mike Stevens each had a goal for the Beavers. Fellow junior Brendan Kennedy finished with two assists, and classmate Nate Mueller made 17 saves in goal in the setback. 
• Junior Will Redick finished with a goal and three assists, while Tait, sophomore Will Pray and senior Brady Morrison all contributed a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who got 32 saves from Kalle Anderson '24 in the victory. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson is coming off a successful season that ended with a 14-10-2 overall record and a 12-5-1 mark in the NEHC. The Beavers finished tied for fourth in the conference in the regular season before falling to eighth-ranked Elmira in the NEHC quarterfinals, breaking a streak of three straight trips to the NEHC title game.
• The Green and White return a group of 24 experienced veterans from last year's squad and welcome four newcomers, including a pair of graduate student transfers, under head coach Jamie Rice '90.
• Ryan Murphy (8-16-24) returns as the leading scorer from last season while senior Wyatt George (10-8-18) and Schmitt (10-5-15) topped the squad in goals. Kennedy (2-13-15) and sophomore Charlie Andriole (0-13-13) tied for second on the team in assists and junior Ian Driscoll (6-8-14) and senior Matt Cormier (6-5-11) were tied for fourth in goals.
• Junior Nate Mueller (3.10 GAA, .900 sv. pct.) and sophomore Mason Rosado (2.42 GAA, .912 sv. pct.) each started 13 games with one shutout in goal for the Beavers last season, Mueller finishing 7-6-0 and Rosado 7-4-2.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
• No. 11 Plymouth State, which opens its season on Friday night at the University of New England, wrapped up a 24-3-2 campaign (18-1-2 MASCAC) last season after capturing its fourth consecutive Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championship.
• The Panthers registered the program's first NCAA Tournament victory over No. 13 Cortland State, 5-2, in the first round before falling to No. 2 Utica, 4-1 in the quarterfinals.
• Long time head coach Craig Russell returns the top seven scorers and 10 of the top 11 from last year's squad. Leading the way is First Team All-American junior Will Redick, who led the nation in goals (27), points (58) and power play goals (11), while ranking second in Division III with 31 assists. Seniors Connor Tait and Donte' DiPonio and junior Rider McCallum are also back after earning All-MASCAC First Team recognition last year.

BEHIND THE BENCH
• Now in his 21st season behind the Beaver bench, head coach Jamie Rice '90, has guided the program to an overall record of 321-164-47 (.648), four ECAC East Tournament championships and the 2022 NEHC Tournament title.
• A three-time conference coach of the year and Edward Jeremiah Award finalist, and 2007 New England Coach of the Year, Rice has led the program to six NCAA Tournament berths, including national quarterfinal appearances in 2013, 2014 and 2022.

SEASON OPENERS
• The Beavers have won their last four home openers and are 7-4 in season debuts since 2013.
• The Green and White had a three-game winning streak in season openers snapped in the debut at the Milwaukee School of Engineering last year.
• Babson captured a 3-2 overtime victory over Plymouth State in the 2022-23 season opener at the Babson Skating Center.

PRESEASON POLL
• The Beavers were picked to finish fourth when the NEHC preseason coaches' poll was released two weeks ago.
• Defending champion Hobart was a unanimous selection to repeat its title with Skidmore and Norwich rounding out the top three.
• The NEHC has a different look this year with the addition of Salve Regina and Albertus Magnus and the departure of Johnson & Wales.

COLEMAN'S LASTING LEGACY
•    After joining the Babson men's ice hockey program through Team IMPACT in October 2017, Coleman Walsh begins his final "official season" with the Beavers in 2024-25. 
•    Walsh, who lives with a genetic disease called Williams Syndrome that causes developmental delays, recently turned 18 and is now a senior at Walpole High School. His Team IMPACT Draft Day in 2017 was featured on Good Morning America and the Boston news networks.
•    Coleman and his family have been fixtures at the Babson Skating Center over the last seven years and have formed a lasting bond with all the current and former players and coaches. 

HOME ICE ADVANTAGE
• The Beavers finished 8-2-2 at the Babson Skating Center in 2023-24 and are 17-5-3 on home ice over the past two seasons.
• Babson is 58-17-7 at home since 2017-18 and 102-20-12 in Babson Park since February of 2013.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers went 10-3 last season when scoring the first goal of the game and finished 12-1-1 when scoring at least three goals.
• The Green and White were 8-2 when leading after the first period and 8-2 when ahead after two frames.
• Babson finished 8-0-1 when allowing two goals or less last year and is 84-3-8 since 2017-18 when allowing no more than two goals.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers will open NEHC play with a pair of games at Skidmore on November 8-9.