BOSTON, Mass. – In a rematch of last year's New England Hockey Conference Championship Game, UMass Boston men's hockey scored five goals over the final 40 minutes and Bailey MacBurnie (Beverly, Mass.) made 37 saves, to lead the Beacons past their rival Babson College at Fenway Park.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 5, Babson College 1

UMass Boston (9-5-2, 4-4-1 NEHC)
Babson College (8-7-1, 5-4-0 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

MacBurnie made the most of his first meeting with the Beacons' rival, as the freshman stopped 29 shots over the first two periods and helped UMass Boston kill off all three Babson power plays.

On the flip side, Babson sophomore Matt Pompa struggled in his first contest against the Beacons' high-octane offense. The Florida native allowed five goals on 29 total shots to fall to 4-5-0 on the year.

Battling the elements throughout the first period, the two teams jockeyed for position.  The Beacons led the frame in shots 12-11, with neither team really having any solid chances.  Both teams have had experience playing at America's Most Beloved Ballpark, with the Beacons playing in 2014 against Salem State University.  Thursday's contest marked the third appearance at Fenway for the Beavers, with the previous two meetings coming against fellow NEHC side Norwich University.

The opening two minutes of the second saw the two teams battling a rain soaked surface, with the Beavers having a majority of the chances early.  At one point Babson had a two-on-one situation, but were stopped by MacBurnie.

Babson thought they had broken the scoreless draw at the 13:50 mark, but Charlie Ackerman's goal was waived off to due to a high stick.  Exactly 40 seconds later, the Beacons got their first goal of the night to give UMass Boston the true 1-0 lead as Ryan Cusin (Detroit, Mich.) found the back of the net, in a huge momentum shift.  Colin Larkin (Waterford, Mich.) sent a centering feed to Cusin, who's shot deflected off Pompa's pads and in.

That goal would completely change the intensity of the game, as the two teams began to exchange hits and shots over the next four minutes.  Babson nearly had another goal, but like the first it was called back as multiple players crashed into the crease with MacBurnie making a initial stop, before being buried under a pile of bodies. 

Matt McMorrow would even the score at the 9:26 mark off some misdirection. Ryan Gouveia got very little on his initial shot, which left MacBurnie out of position, and McMorrow was able to find the rebound and poke it home.

The shooting gallery would continue moments later as David MacGregor (Azusa, Calif.) responded for the Beacons in a huge way-to give UMB a 2-1 lead with 8:22 to play in the second.  Just under a minute and a half later, Colin Larkin would rip an initial shot which was stopped by Matt Pompa, however Redler would clean up the rebound to make it 3-1 Beacons.

UMass Boston would continue to keep the pressure on with Dakota Keene (Poland, Maine) finding the back of the net.  Tyler Sifferlen (North Andover, Mass.) would fire-off a one-timer that was stopped by Pompa, but the sophomore goaltender was unable to collect the puck, and Keene dove full extension and stretched as far as he could and tipped the puck up over Pompa to make it a 4-1 contest.

Cusin nearly made it a four-goal game on a wrister to the near post that Pompa was just able to deflect away, to keep it at 4-1 heading into the second intermission.

Just like the second, the Beavers came out firing in the third looking to close the gap.  Babson had a pair of solid chances in the first three minutes, with MacBurnie coming up with both the stops to preserve the lead for the Beacons.

Brett Mason (Rowley, Mass.) would have the first solid chance for the Beacons in the final period on a slapper, which was pushed away by Pompa.  MacBurnie would continue to play strong between the pipes as he made four huge stops during the Beavers power-play following a hooking call on Zach Lindsay (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.). 

After the successful penalty kill by the Beacons, the two teams did a majority of their skating in the neutral zone.  UMB got another great opportunity off of a Babson turnover, but was once again stopped by Pompa.  Moments later it was senior All-American Tyler Bishop (Ramsey, N.J.) who found the back of the net on a one-timer, as he tied the program record for points by a defenseman.

With less than two minutes to play, Larkin nearly put the final nail in the coffin on a breakaway, but a diving toe save by Pompa kept the score intact as time continued to wind down quickly. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• With the win, UMass Boston earned their first-ever three-game winning streak against Babson College. The Beacons four-goal margin of victory tied their second-largest all time and was their biggest win since February 25, 1989.
• Bishop tied All-American defenseman Bill Innocent's ('92) program record for career points by a defenseman with his third period goal. The senior All-American has 81 points (21 goals, 60 assists) in 97 career games. He also finished with a team-best +4 rating.
• Babson outshot the Beacons 38-29, while UMass Boston earned a 37-35 edge in face-offs.
• Larkin continues to terrorize Babson. The junior was credited with three assists to up his career total to seven goals and five assists in seven career games against Babson.
• UMass Boston held Babson to an 0-for-3 night on the power play, while the Beacons went 0-for-1.
• Sophomore Parker Wood (Rochester, Mich.) picked up his first point as a Beacon, with an assist on MacGregor's game-winning goal.
• UMass Boston improved to 2-0 at Fenway Park. On the flip side, Babson College is now 0-3.
• Senior captain Albee Daley (Averill Park, N.Y.) went 14-for-18 in the face-off dot.

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons and Beavers will complete their home-and-home on Saturday, when UMass Boston hosts Babson College at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink at 4 p.m.