BABSON PARK, Mass.— Sophomore Gunnar Sibley (Monticello, Minn.) broke a scoreless tie with a goal midway though the second period and sixth-seeded New England College went on to defeat third-seeded Babson College, 2-0, in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) tournament quarterfinal contest Saturday afternoon inside the Babson Skating Center.

The Beavers were blanked for the third game in a row and wind up the season at 13-11-2 overall. The Pilgrims, who were swept by Babson in a two-game series during the regular season, improve to 11-14-1 and advance to the NEHC semifinals next Saturday in Geneva, N.Y.

Junior goalie Nate Mueller (Rogers, Minn.) made 25 saves in the Babson goal but took the loss. The Beavers managed 31 shots on the NEC goal but could not get one past first-year Anthony Beaulieu (Lawrence, Mass.), who registered his third shutout of the season with the 31-save effort.

Senior Ike Taraszewski (Wayzata, Minn.) added an empty-net goal for the Pilgrims and first-year Vesse-Wincent Lampen (Espoo, Finland) and graduate student Zach Nelson (Hudson, Mass.) collected assists in the win.

Babson had a 13-9 advantage in shots in the opening frame but neither team was able to score. The Pilgrims had a pair of outstanding scoring opportunities after Beaver turnovers in their own zone but Mueller came up big to keep the game scoreless heading into the second period.

After both teams put multiple shots on goal in the second frame, the Pilgrims finally broke the deadlock. Sibley picked up a loose puck along the right board and knocked it to Lampen behind the net and broke towards the goal. Lampen retrieved the puck and slid a nifty back-handed pass in front to Sibley, who snapped a one-timer past Mueller inside the left post for his 10th goal of the season. NEC finished the frame with an 8-6 shot advantage and took the one-goal lead into the third period.

The Green and White played with a sense of urgency in the final 20 minutes but could not solve Beaulieu. The hosts pulled Mueller for an extra skater with just under three minutes remaining, but 30 seconds later Babson junior Charlie Andriole (Branford, Conn.) had a pair of shots blocked and Taraszewski collected a loose puck and sent it the length of the ice and into the net for the game-sealing empty-netter.

Babson finished with a 31-27 advantage in shots on goal, and the game was played without a single penalty being called.

GAME NOTES
• Babson had a five-game winning streak against the Pilgrims snapped but owns a 51-25-8 lead in the all-time series against NEC that dates back to 1977.
• NEC has won six of 10 career postseason games between the two sides, although Saturday's game was the first between the two since 2017.
• The Beavers failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs for just the sixth time in 25 appearances since 2001.
• Saturday's final marked the end of an era for Babson in the New England Hockey Conference (formerly the ECAC), which dates back nearly five decades. The Beavers will play in the Little East Conference in men's hockey beginning next season.