HENNIKER, N.H. – Freshman transfer goalie Darius Bell got his first start in net for UMass Boston Men's Ice Hockey on Saturday afternoon against New England College on the road, stopping 29 of 30 shots that he faced en route to a 3-1 Beacon win against the Pilgrims.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 3, New England College 1

UMass Boston (7-10-0, 4-6-0 NEHC)

New England College (8-8-1, 5-5-1 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The scoring got started for the Beacons almost immediately as freshman forward Mike Manzo netted his fourth goal of the season just 1:38 into the contest. Manzo's shot came after junior defender Blake Colman found junior forward Corey Clifton for a shot in front of graduate goalie Spencer Kozlowski which ricocheted to Manzo for the open shot on the right side.

Two second period power play goals would prove to be the difference maker in the game as junior forward Evan Googins connected on his team-leading seventh goal of the season while sophomore defender Pat Keegan scored his second of the year to give UMass Boston a three-goal advantage. The Googins goal came on assists from Colman and senior forward Dakota Concannon while Keegan's goal was assisted by Googins and freshman forward Jazz Krivtsov.

The only blemish on Darius Bell's debut would come with just under three minutes to go when junior forward Anthony Cinato scored on the power play, cutting the Beacon lead to two, 3-1, before UMass Boston would close the door on their fourth New England Hockey Conference victory of the season.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Darius Bell made 29 saves on 30 shot attempts by the Pilgrims in the game
• Spencer Kozlowski stopped 35 of the 38 shots faced against UMass Boston
• The Beacon power play unit finished 2-for-5 in the game
• This is the fourth consecutive victory for UMass Boston over New England College

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston returns home next weekend for a pair of games first starting off with a Friday night matchup against University of Southern Maine. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM. On the road earlier this season, the Beacons shutout the Huskies, 3-0, on the road for senior goalie Sam Best's lone shutout of the season.