BABSON PARK, Mass.— Junior Damon Beaver (Whitby, Ont.) made 15 of his 23 saves in the second period and No. 1 Hobart College held off upset-minded Babson College, 2-0, in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) men's ice hockey action on Friday night inside the Babson Skating Center.

Babson had its two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 13-10-1 overall and 11-8 in the NEHC. Hobart won its sixth game in a row to improve to 23-1-0 overall and 18-1-0 in conference play.

Junior Nate Mueller (Rogers, Minn.) made 28 saves in goal for the Beavers. Junior Ian Driscoll (Middleton, Mass.) and graduate student Kyle Gierman (Shelby Township, Mich.) shared game-high honors with four shots on goal but the Green and White could not get one past Beaver.

Junior Tristan Fasig (Sherman, Conn.) and first-year Easton Ryan (Nepean, Ont.) scored goals for the Statesmen and junior Ignat Belov (Minsk, Belarus) and graduate student Austin Mourar (Spring City, Pa.) earned assists.

The teams skated through a scoreless first period with Babson killing off a minor penalty, and Hobart held the Beavers to just two shots while killing off a major penalty. The hosts nearly took the lead less than two minutes into the second frame when sophomore Sean Senier (Melrose, Mass.) went in alone on the Hobart goal but was denied by Beaver.

Babson went on the power play midway through the second period but it backfired when the visitors potted a short-handed goal. Belov caused a turnover near the Hobart blue line and sent Fasig on a breakaway, and he beat Mueller between the pads for the short-hander and a 1-0 lead.

The Statesmen nearly doubled their margin late in the period but Mueller made a big save on a breakaway by senior Shane Shell (Westfield, N.J.). Babson had a 15-10 shot advantage in the second period but was unable to put a goal on the board.

Ryan tacked on an insurance goal with just under seven minutes remaining in the third. Mourar sent a pass from the right circle to Ryan in the left circle, and he slammed a one-timer past Mueller inside the right post for the two-goal lead. The Statesmen defense did the rest and kept the hosts out of harms way the remainder of the game as Beaver picked up his fifth shutout of the season.

Hobart finished with a 30-23 advantage in shots on goal. Both teams were scoreless on the power play, Babson on three attempts and the visitors on two tries.

The two teams will play the regular season finale on Saturday in a rematch at 4 p.m. at the Babson Skating Center.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 12-11-5 all-time against Hobart in a series that dates back to the 1987-88 season.
• The Beavers have dropped five of the last six games against the Statesmen, who were ranked No. 1 in Division III in all six contests.
• The Statesmen were limited to their season-low in scoring, the third time they've managed just two goals.
• The Green and White won the face-off battle, 27-26, led by junior Ryan Murphy (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.), who went 8-6 at the dot.