BOSTON, Mass.—Top-seeded UMass Boston and rival Babson College are set to square off for the first-ever New England Hockey Conference Tournament Title Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Beacons Ice Arena. The contest marks the fourth-consecutive year UMass Boston and the second-seeded Beavers will square off in a conference tournament.
GAME INFORMATION
LIVE STATS / VIDEO
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets will only be sold at the door and at a first-come, first-serve basis. Once the Beacons Ice Arena is deemed at capacity, no more tickets will be sold. Any overflow crowds will be able to watch the webcast in the Clark Lobby. Tickets are five dollars for general admission and three dollars for students with an ID.
ALL-TIME SERIES: In a series that dates back to 1982, Babson College holds a 38-14-6 all-time lead and a 7-2 all-time advantage in playoff contests. Babson and the Beacons met in the ECAC East Semifinals in each of the past three seasons, with the Beavers ending the Beacons' season in all three contests. Saturday's game marks the second-time these two teams have played in a title game, with seventh-seeded Babson downing eight-seeded UMass Boston 4-3 in overtime in the 2009 ECAC East Title Game. Overall, UMass Boston and Babson have met in eight of the past 12 conference tournaments.
SEASON SERIES: The top two teams in the NEHC met in the middle of January for a home-and-home series, with both teams grabbing a win on the other sides' home ice.
Babson took the opener 3-2 over the Beacons, thanks to a Tim Searles goal 4:13 into the third period. The Beavers raced out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals from Tommy Munichiello, only to have the Beacons even the contest up with a single goal in the second and third. Tyler Bishop (Ramsey N.J.) cut the deficit to 2-1 at 13:07 of the third and Frankie DeAugustine (Pittsburgh, Pa.) evened the score 45 seconds into the third off a great feed from Matt Lemire (Townsend, Mass.). Babson's All-American goalie Jamie Murray slightly bested Billy Faust (Alta Loma, Calif.), as Murray stopped 36 of 38 shots, while Faust made 37 saves on 40 looks.
UMass Boston came out on fire in the return trip, as the Beacons scored twice in the opening 6:44 and never looked back in a 4-1 win at the Babson Skating Center. Colin Larkin opened the scoring just 91 seconds into the game, when he tipped home a Gabe Chuckran (Media, Pa.) shot. Senior Alex Demchuk (Calgary, Alberta) netted the game-winner at 6:44, when he rammed home a Drew Gannon (Plano, Texas) rebound right in front. Matt Brazel cut the deficit to 2-1 at 12:45, but Faust would stop the final 31 shots he faced to neutralize the Beavers' offense. UMass Boston tacked on a huge insurance goal at 4:22 of the third period, when Larkin scored nearly three minutes into a five-minute major penalty. Albee Daley (Averill Park, N.Y.) tacked on an empty-net goal with 35 seconds to play. Faust finished the game with 35 saves on 36 shots, while Murray ended the day with 32 saves on 35 shots.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS: Babson College is aiming to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time and third time in the past four years. The Beavers have made it to ten of the past 13 ECAC East tournament championship games and won four of their previous nine title contests. Babson made it to the finals thanks to a 5-2 win over #7 Skidmore College in the NEHC Quarterfinals and a resounding 5-0 win over #3 Norwich University last Saturday.
For the fourth-consecutive season, Babson has built their success from the net out. Murray, who was named the NEHC Goalie of the Year for a second-straight year and Player of the Year for the first-time ever, sits third in the nation with his 1.56 goals against average and tied for seventh with a .941 save percentage. He also sits tied for second in the nation with his four shutouts and has allowed one goal or fewer in 10 of his 21 starts. The Beavers boast an experienced defense in front of Murray, with three senior defenseman, including two-time First Team All-Conference selection Mike Vollmin. As a team, the Beavers sit second in the nation with their 1.63 goals against average.
Offensively, the Beavers have utilized a balanced attack. Eleven different players have found the back of the net at least four times and 12 skaters have posted at least 10 points. Junior Tim Searles, an Honorable Mention All-Conference honoree, leads the team with his 15 assists and 23 points. Sophomore Charlie Ackerman paces the team with 12 goals and senior Max Franklin has netted a team-high four power-play goals.
If the Beavers have a weakness, it's been the team's play on special teams. They rank sixth in the NECH in power-play rate (18.9 percent), fifth on the penalty-kill (83.3 percent) and tied for fourth in special teams net (+3). In the two regular-season meetings, UMass Boston went 2-for-8 on the power-play, while the Beavers finished 1-for-6. Special teams were a difference maker last year for Babson, as the Beavers went 5-for-10 against the Beacons, while the Beacons were held to a 1-for-9 showing.
SCOUTING THE BEACONS: UMass Boston is back in the conference championship game for the first time since 2009, when the Beacons fell to the Beavers in overtime. The Beacons are in the finals thanks to a 4-0 shutout win over #8 University of Southern Maine and a 6-3 win over #4 University of New England. Earlier this week Daley was named to the D3Hockey.com Team of the Week, after recording his first collegiate shutout in the win over the Nor'Easters.
This year's team is hosting their first title game since 1982, thanks to their incredible consistency across the board. UMass Boston ranks in the top 10 in scoring offense (4.37 goals per), sixth in power-play rate (25.0 percent), tied for 10th in penalty-kill rate (87.6 percent), ninth in combined special teams (55.1 percent) and tied for ninth with their 8.7 penalty minutes per game. The Beacons also sit just outside the top-10 in scoring defense (2.19 goals per)-which is the best mark a Beacons team has posted this century.
The Beacons have five players with 10 or more goals and 12 different skaters have posted at least 10 points. Lemire and Larkin rank first and second in the NEHC in assists (28 and 25) and points (42 and 34). DeAugustine leads the NEHC in power-play goals (eight), is tied for first in power-play points (15) and second overall with his 15 goals. Finally, Bishop paces all defenseman in the NEHC with his 10 goals, 11 assists and 21 total points.
In net, Faust ranks third in the NEHC with his 2.16 goals against average and fourth with his .924 save percentage. The senior goalie is 2-4 all-time against Babson and has posted a .918 save percentage and a 2.88 goals against average in seven career appearances.
One player to watch for UMass Boston is Larkin, who has been the Beacons' most effective player against Murray. In five career meetings, the sophomore has six goals and two assists, including an overtime game-winner last season. Larkin has scored more goals against Murray than any other player, with St. Anselm College's Joe Tebano and Norwich University's Dean Niezgoda sitting tied for second with four goals each.
STAT TO KNOW: Scoring the first goal is going to be crucial on Saturday. UMass Boston is 14-0-2 this season when scoring first, while the Beavers are 18-0-2 in that situation. On the other side, the Beacons are 6-4-1 when giving up the first goal and Babson is just 1-5-1 when opponents score first.
