NORTHFIELD, Vt.— Junior Sami Molu (Toronto, Ont.) made 31 saves in goal and No. 15 Norwich University scored two goals in the first and third periods to defeat No. 12 Babson College, 4-1, in the inaugural title game of the Little East Conference (LEC) men's ice hockey tournament Saturday evening inside Kreitzberg Arena.

Norwich, which won its 14th conference championship in program history, extended its unbeaten streak to 11 games (8-0-3) and improved to 18-5-4 overall, earning the LEC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Babson, which had won 10 of its last 12 games, sees its season come to an end with a 21-4-2 record.

Senior Nate Mueller (Summit, N.J.) made 17 saves in the Babson net in the setback. Senior Mike Stevens (Massapequa, N.Y.) scored the lone goal for the Beavers with assists from classmates Nolan Woudenberg (Collegeville, Pa.) and Danny Cavanagh (Warwick, R.I.).

Senior Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, Ont.) and junior Zach Ophoven (Burlington, Ont.) scored first-period goals for the Cadets, and first-year Niko Benjamin (Surprise, Ariz.) and junior Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, Ont.) put the game out of reach with third-period strikes. Cordeiro, Ophoven and Bertrand added assists in the victory. 

Babson had a 6-2 advantage over the scoreless first half of the opening period but Norwich scored twice in back half of the stanza to change the tide. Cordeiro buried a pass from Ophoven at the left end line at 10:52 to open the scoring, and Ophoven stuffed the puck past Mueller in the crease after a Norwich 3-on-2 break at 17:00, sending the hosts into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.

The Beavers sliced the deficit in half midway through the second period. Cavanagh won a face-off back to Woudenberg at the right point, and Woudenberg's shot was stopped by Molu but Stevens punched in the rebound at 9:52 to make it a 2-1 game.

Trailing by one, the Green and White continued to get shots on Molu, outshooting the Cadets in all three periods. Norwich pulled away in the third period when Benjamin got loose behind the Babson defense and Betrand found him for a breakaway, and Benjamin beat Mueller low to the glove side for a 3-1 lead with 9:36 remaining. The hosts sealed the win on an empty net goal with 1:17 to play as Bertand fired the puck in from his own blue line.

Babson finished with a 32-21 advantage in shots on goal. Both teams were held scoreless on a pair of power play attempts.

Norwich will learn its first round opponent and game site on the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey selection shot on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 31-51-8 all-time against Norwich in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 campaign, although the teams are tied 6-6-1 over the past five seasons.
• Babson is 2-5 all-time against Norwich in conference championships games, winning in 2013 an 2014 and losing in 2004, 2010, 2011, 2015, and 2026.
• The Green and White outshot their opponents for the 21st game in a row and the 25th time in 27 outings this season.
• Saturday's loss marked the end of the careers of 16 Babson seniors who played in two conference championship games and registered a composite record of 65-34-8.