NEW HAVEN, Conn.— Sophomore Robert Barrasso (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) broke a 2-2 deadlock with less than five minutes remaining in the third period and Albertus Magnus College went on a 4-2 victory over Babson College in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) men's ice hockey action on Friday night at the Ralph Walker Skating Rink.

Albertus won its fourth straight game to up its record to 8-5-1 overall and 5-3-1 in the NEHC while Babson had a five-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 9-6-1 overall and 7-4-0 in league play.

Juniors Brendan Kennedy (Georgetown, Ont.) and Egan Schmitt (Schuylerville, N.Y.) scored goals for the Beavers, and classmates Ian Driscoll (Middleton, Mass.) and Will Holland (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomores Sean Senier (Melrose, Mass.) and CJ Beals (Chelmsford, Mass.) collected assists. Junior Nate Mueller (Rogers, Minn.) made 33 saves, his second-highest total in a game this season, but suffered the loss.

Sophomores Paden Hicks (Kansas City, Mo.) and Kyler Dann (Windham, N.H.) each tallied a goal and an assist in the win and sophomore William Lavigne (Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs, Que.) also scored for the Falcons. Junior Connor Bertamini (Calgary, Alb.), first-year Andrew Van Antwerp (Petoskey, Mich.), senior Tim Manning (Concord, Ohio), and sophomore Eric Chamandy (Montreal, Qué.) produced assists, and first-year Chace Hale (Pittsburgh, Pa.) stopped 24 shots to earn the victory in goal.

The Falcons took an early lead with a pair of first period goals. Lavigne stopped a Babson clear inside the blue line and sent a wrister toward the net that eluded Mueller and found the top right corner of the net at 4:15 for a 1-0 lead. Hicks and Chamandy created a 2-on-1 on Mueller, and Hicks tapped a pass from Chamandy on the right side into an empty net for a 2-0 advantage at 10:12 of the opening frame.

Babson battled back and tied the score with a pair of goals in the first five minutes of the second period. Driscoll picked up a loose puck along the right boards and dropped a pass back to Holland, whose shot was tipped in front by Kennedy at 1:44 to put the Beavers on the board. Senier later got a shot off from the slot but it was blocked, and Schmitt pounced on the rebound and ripped a shot from the right side over Hale's shoulder to even the score at 2-2 at 5:22 of the second.

Barrasso notched the go-ahead goal on a third-period Albertus power play, tipping in a slap shot by Bertamini from the top of the right circle through the pads of Mueller at the 15:12 mark. The Beavers pulled Mueller for an extra skater with two minutes to go but Dann sealed the win with an empty-netter at 18:38.

The hosts finished with a 37-26 advantage in shots on goal and scored on the only penalty called in the game.

The two teams will go at it again on Saturday in a rematch at 4:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Friday's game was the first all-time between Babson and Albertus Magnus, which began its hockey program in 2019-20.
• Kennedy scored for the fourth game in a row for the Beavers and now leads the NEHC with 10 goals on the season.
• Driscoll has a three-game point streak for the Green and White and has at least one point in five of his last six outings.
• Babson is 4-4 this season in games decided by two goals.