No. 12 Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Saint Michael’s
Friday, December 30 | 3 p.m.
Babson Skating Center | Babson Park, Mass.
WHAT TO KNOW
• Babson returns from a three-week hiatus with a Friday matinee in the first of two non-conference home games to start the second half of the season.
• The Beavers host the Purple Knights of Saint Michael’s College on Friday at 3 p.m. before welcoming Salem State University at 6 p.m. next Tuesday, both games at the Babson Skating Center.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 23-3-1 all-time against the Purple Knights in a series that dates back to the 1998-99 season.
• The Beavers have captured the last two contests against Saint Mike’s since a 4-2 loss in 2016, which snapped Babson’s 18-game unbeaten streak (17-0-1) in the series.
• The Green and White have won nine in a row over the Purple Knights at the Babson Skating Center since a 4-3 setback in 2004.
LAST MEETING
• Matt Wiesner ’22 and senior Andrew Holland scored two goals apiece and 11 different players recorded at least one point as Babson defeated Saint Michael’s, 6-2, in the championship game of the Middlebury Holiday Classic on January 4, 2020 inside Chip Kenyon ’85 Arena.
• Ryan Black ’22 and Zach Richterman each scored once, while Patrick Flynn ’21 and Cam Schmitt ’22 both contributed two assists apiece. Senior Chris Rooney was one of five Beavers who also picked up an assist, and Aidan Murphy ’22 stopped 23 of 25 shots in goal to record the win for Babson.
• Paul McAuliffe ’21 and senior Jeremy Routh both scored for the Purple Knights, who got 27 saves from goaltender Tim Decker ’20.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 12 Babson (7-4-2, 4-2-2 NEHC) is looking for a strong start to the second half of the season after dropping its final two games before the break, falling at home to New England College on December 3 and at Trinity in overtime on December 6, both by 4-3 scores.
• Rooney and sophomore Matt Cormier each finished with a goal and an assist in the loss to Trinity. The Green and White led Trinity 3-1 after Rooney’s goal at 6:40 of the third period before the Bantams rallied for the comeback win.
• Junior Thomas Kramer (3-7-10) is tied for 10th in the NEHC in scoring and tied for seventh in assists while Holland (4-4-8) and senior James Perullo (3-5-8) are tied for 20th in points. Perullo and first-year Will Holland (1-6-7) are tied for fourth and seventh, respectively, in scoring among defensemen.
• Senior goalie Nolan Hildebrand (5-1-2, 1.95 GAA, .939 sv. pct), who is tied for fourth in the NEHC in save percentage and fifth in goals against average, has shared time between the pipes with first-year Nate Mueller (2-3-0, 2.75 GAA, .917 sv. pct).
SCOUTING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS
• Saint Michael’s (4-7-1, 3-4-1 NE10) will be back in action for the first time since a 3-2 non-conference loss to Castleton on December 6.
• Senior Matt Schreiner and sophomore David Ciancio scored for the Purple Knights, whose comeback attempt from a 3-0 first-period deficit fell short. Junior Marshall Murphy made 27 saves in the setback.
• Schreiner (5-6-11) is tied for 10th in the NE10 in scoring and sophomore Brennan McFarland (1-9-10) is tied for sixth in assists. Junior Zach Taylor (6-2-8) and Routh (4-4-8) and fellow senior Owen Rudicus (3-5-8) are tied for third on the team in scoring.
• Murphy (3-4-1, 2.99 GAA, .924 sv. pct) has started eight games in goal for the Purple Knights and first-year Cole Manahan (1-3-0, 3.06 GAA, .920 sv. pct) has gotten the starting nod four times.
PLUS-MINUS
• Will Holland sits atop the NEHC in plus/minus rating at +14, while Perullo (+9) is tied for seventh overall and tied for fifth among defensemen.
BALANCED OFFENSE
• Babson’s 39 goals this season have come from 19 different players, as three players have scored four times, two have scored three and seven have scored twice.
• Eleven players have scored their first career goals this season for the Beavers.
POLL POSITION
• The NEHC has three teams ranked in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll – No. 1 and undefeated Hobart (11-0-0), No. 8 Norwich (8-2-1) and No. 12 Babson.
• The SUNYAC (No. 5 Geneseo, No. 9 Oswego, No. 13 Plattsburgh) and the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (No. 3 Adrian, No. 5 St. Norbert, No.10 Aurora) also have three ranked teams each and the Commonwealth Coast Conference (No. 7 Endicott, No. 15 Univ. of New England) has two.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 3-1-1 at home this season and are 18-3-3 at the Babson Skating Center since the start of the 2020-21 season.
• Babson is 6-1 this season when leading after two periods and is 61-1-2 when taking a lead into the third period since 2017-18.
• The Green and White are 7-2-1 this season when scoring at least three goals and are 70-11-5 since the 2017-18 season when scoring at least three times.
UP NEXT
• The Beavers will be home again next Tuesday, January 3, welcoming Salem State to the Babson Skating Center for a 6 p.m. faceoff.
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