PLYMOUTH, N.H.— Senior Ian Driscoll (Middleton, Mass.) tallied a goal and an assist and junior Mason Rosado (Weddington, N.C.) made 17 of his 31 saves in the third period as No. 11 Babson College defeated Plymouth State University, 3-1, in the Little East Conference men's ice hockey regular season finale Saturday afternoon inside Hanaway RInk.

With the victory, Babson winds up the regular season with wins in nine of its last 11 games, a 19-4-2 overall record, and second place in the LEC with a 14-3-1 league mark. Plymouth State had a three-game winning streak snapped and heads into the playoffs at 14-10-1 overall and 11-6-1 in the Little East.

Junior Jimmy Fallon (Milton, Mass.) and senior Brendan Kennedy (Georgetown, Ont.) also scored for the Beavers, and seniors Egan Schmitt (Schuylerville, N.Y.) and Ryan Murphy (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.), junior CJ Beals (Chelmsford, Mass.), and sophomores Evan Brown (Little Silver, N.J.) and Raphael Marcoux (Quebec City, Que.) tallied assists in the triumph.

First-year Kim Hilmersson (Uppsala, Sweden) scored the lone goal for the Panthers, with assists from classmate Tucker Shedd (Holt, Mich.) and sophomore Matt Hale (Center Harbor, N.H.). Junior Connor Strobel (Butler, Pa.) made 32 saves in the Panther goal, including 16 in the second period.

After a scoreless first period that included two PSU power play attempts and one for Babson, the hosts struck first with a power play goal at 2:16 of the second. Shedd sent a pass to Hilmersson along the right goal line and he stuffed a shot past Rosado from point blank range for his seventh goal of the season.

Fallon tied the game for Babson at 13:32 of the middle period, moments after a power play opportunity had expired. Schmitt fed Fallon in front from behind the net and Fallon buried a one-timer past Strobel for his team-leading 18th goal of the season.

After the Panthers were whistled for a major penalty with five minutes to go in the second period, Babson capitalized with two power play goals. Murphy fired a pass from the right circle across to the crease to Kennedy along the left goal line and Kennedy scored from a tight angle for his eighth of the season at 16:01. Driscoll then ripped a one-timer from the right circle past Strobel on a feed from Beals for his ninth of the season and a 3-1 lead heading into the third period.

Plymouth State outshot the visitors 17-9 in the third period, including six shots on a pair of power plays, but Rosado was equal to the task, keeping the puck out of the net and securing the victory.

The visitors finished with a 35-32 advantage in shots on goal. The Beavers went 2-for-5 on the power play while PSU was 1-for-5 with a man-advantage.

Babson has earned a first-round bye in the inaugural Little East Tournament and will host a semifinal game next Saturday against a team to be determined. Plymouth State will host a first-round game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Hanaway Rink.

GAME NOTES
• Babson has won seven of the last eight against Plymouth State and owns a 9-2-1 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to the 2002-03 season.
• The Beavers have outshot their opponents in 19 straight games and 23 of 23 outings this season.
• Babson is 18-0-1 this season when scoring at least three goals.
• Fallon's 18 goals this season are the most for a Babson player since Ryan Black '22 notched 19 goals in 2021-22