BABSON PARK, Mass.— Junior Charlie Andriole (Branford, Conn.) broke a 1-1 tied a minute into the third period and that goal stood as the game-winner as Babson College defeated the University of Southern Maine, 2-1, in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) men's ice hockey contest Friday evening inside the Babson Skating Center.

The Beavers won their second game in a row to improve to 3-3-0 overall and 2-3-0 in conference games while Southern Maine dropped its third straight contest to fall to 1-3-0 overall and 0-3-0 in the NEHC.

Junior Brendan Kennedy (Georgetown, Ont.) led the Beavers with a goal and an assist, and junior Nolan Woudenberg (Collegeville, Pa.) and graduate student Johnny McElaney (Walpole, Mass.) registered assists. Sophomore Mason Rosado (Weddington, N.C.) made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal and even his record at 2-2-0.
Sophomore Ethan MacDuff (Lloydminster, Alb.) scored the only goal for the Huskies with an unassisted marker. Senior Mason Palmer (Cumming, Ga.) finished with 29 saves in goal but took the loss (1-2-0).

The Beavers scored the only goal of the first period at the 4:54 mark. After Woudenberg pinched in at the right point to keep the puck in the zone, Kennedy scooped it up, spun around and fired a wrist shot from the blue line that snuck through the pads of Palmer for a 1-0 Beaver lead. Each team registered nine shots on goal in the opening frame with just the one goal.

The 1-0 Babson advantage lasted until the 12:37 mark of the second period when the Huskies evened the score. MacDuff broke up the play in front of his own goal, carried the puck the length of the ice, danced around the Babson defense and stuffed a shot past Rosado for his first goal of the season. USM had a 13-10 shot margin in the second period but the teams went into the third tied at 1-1.

The Green and White needed just 66 seconds to regain the lead. Kennedy slid a pass from the top of the right circle to Andriole at the top of the left circle, and Andriole ripped a shot past Palmer into the top left corner for his second of the season. Babson finished with a 12-8 shot advantage in the third period but neither team was able to score, including USM which replaced Palmer in favor of an extra attacked for the final 91 seconds.

Just two penalties were called in the game, one on Babson in the first period and one of Southern Maine in the second, but neither team was able to capitalize with the man advantage.

The two teams will face-off again on Saturday at 4 p.m. inside the Babson Skating Center.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 38-9-2 all-time against Southern Maine in a series that dates back to 1995, including 24-1-1 over the past decade.
• The Green and White are 3-1 in one-goal games this season and 9-3-2 since last season in games that were decided by one goal or ended in a tie.
• The Beavers have captured three out of their four home games this season and are 20-6-3 at the Babson Skating Center since the start of the 2022-23 season.