HENNIKER, N.H.— Junior Ian Driscoll (Middleton, Mass.) scored a pair of goals, including the go-ahead marker at 17:50 of the third period, as Babson College completed a weekend sweep of New England College with a 4-2 victory in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) men's ice hockey contest Saturday afternoon inside Lee Clement Arena.

The Beavers won their fifth straight conference game to improve to 6-5-1 overall and 5-3-0 in the NEHC while the Pilgrims suffered their fifth straight loss and fell to 1-7-1 overall and 1-4-1 in conference play.

Sophomore Joseph Kramer (Bridgewater, Mass.) tallied a goal and an assist for the Beavers and senior Wyatt George (Mount Lebanon, Pa.) scored for the second straight game. Graduate students Kyle Gierman (Shelby Township, Mich.) and Johnny McElaney (Walpole, Mass.) and sophomores Jimmy Fallon (Milton, Mass.) and CJ Beals (Chelmsford, Mass.) chipped in with one helper each. Junior goalie Nate Mueller (Rogers, Minn.) made 28 saves in goal for his second win of the weekend.

First-year Egor Osipik (Minsk, Belarus) scored both goals for the Pilgrims, and first-year Gus Cantwell (West St. Paul, Minn.), sophomore Dylan Duckson (Mahtomedi, Minn.), and seniors Jesper Tarkiainen (Naperville, Ill.) and Wyatt Andres (Brainerd, Minn.) registered one assist each. First-year Anthony Beaulieu (Lawrence, Mass.) made 26 saves but suffered the tough-luck loss.

Babson took control of the game in the first period, outshooting the hosts 11-5 and scoring a pair of goals. Driscoll scored the first goal on a one-timer from the high slot at 8:29, converting a pass from Gierman along the left boards.

The Beavers doubled their lead two minutes later when Fallon sent a diagonal pass from left side of his own blue line and George tracked it down behind the NEC defense and ripped a shot from the right circle past Beaulieu inside the far post to make it 2-0 after one period.

The Pilgrims got one back just 92 seconds into the second period. Cantwell sent a pass from the left face-off dot to Osipik near the left post, and he lifted a backhander past Mueller for his first of the game, cutting the margin to 2-1. NEC outshot Babson 18-10 in the middle frame but Babson took the one-goal lead into the third period.

NEC pulled even on a power play goal with just 4:07 remaining in regulation as Osipik picked up a loose puck in the high slot and fired a shot through heavy traffic in front into top right corner. The tie lasted only two minutes as Babson answered with a power play goal of its own with 2:10 on the clock. Kramer sent a pass from the left circle to Driscoll at the right face-off dot, and his shot went over Beaulieu's shoulder into the top of goal to make it 3-2.

The Beavers clinched the victory with an empty-netter at 19:03. Kramer intercepted a pass just outside the blue line and fired a shot into the empty net to seal the victory for the visitors.

Shots on goal were tied at 30-30, and each team was 1-for-2 on the power play.

After a break for final exams and the holidays, Babson returns to action with a non-conference home game against No. 9 Trinity on January 4. NEC plays at home on Tuesday with a non-conference clash against Anna Maria at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Babson has won five in a row and 10 of the last 12 against the Pilgrims and owns a 51-24-8 lead in the all-time series against NEC that dates back to 1977.
• The five straight conference wins for the Beavers moves them into a three-way tie for second place in the NEHC with Skidmore and No. 11 Elmira.
• The Green and White are 5-1-1 this season when scoring at least three goals, and 4-2-1 when scoring at least one power play goal.
• George has five goals and three assists in eight career games against NEC.