BOSTON, Mass. – Last week sophomore transfer goalie Darius Bell made his first start as part of the UMass Boston Men's Ice Hockey team against New England College. This week, the bell was rung for the Miami, Florida to defend the net against 12^th-nationally ranked Babson College on Saturday afternoon at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink. Navigating around a third period barrage from the Beavers, Darius Bell stood tall in net for the Beacons who upset Babson on Saturday afternoon, 3-1.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 3, #12 Babson College 1

UMass Boston (8-10-0, 5-6-0 NEHC)

#12 Babson College (12-5-2, 7-3-2 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a 10-minute battle in the neutral zone between both sides, freshman forward Jazz Krivtsov would be the first to light the lamp for UMass Boston just over halfway into the period. A deflection on the defensive end for the Beacons helped junior forward Jacob Banks control the puck and take it into the offensive zone before firing on senior goalie Nolan Hildebrand in net. After making the initial save, the loose puck found Krivtsov's stick on the left side to bury it in the open side of the net.

Meanwhile, the UMass Boston defense would stave off two power play opportunities for Babson, allowing them to head into the second period with a 1-0 advantage.

A back-and-forth second period would ensure with the Beacons once again killing off another Beaver power play and being unable to convert on one of their own. However, with the frame winding down, UMass Boston would get a crucial second goal when sophomore forward Ty Mathews slipped down the right side of the ice to fire on Hildebrand. Once again, the loose puck went to the left side of the net and this time the stick of sophomore forward Kolye Bankauskas to give the Beacons a 2-0 lead.

The Babson power play would finally break through against Bell with 9:05 remaining in regulation as freshman forward Egan Schmitt and freshman defender Nolan Dion located junior forward Thomas Kramer on the right side of the circle. After briefly losing the puck, Kramer regathered before spinning around and firing it past Bell, cutting the Beacon lead in half, 2-1.

But Darius Bell would stand tall in net for UMass Boston, taming every opportunity that Babson had. Despite four power play chances for the Beavers, including a 6-on-4 opportunity in the last 1:23 of the game, they would be unable to get the equalizer. Sealing the deal in the game was Bankauskas after a pass from Banks sent the sophomore free to the open net en route to a 3-1 upset win for the Beacons at home.
 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Darius Bell stopped 27 shots in goal for UMass Boston and has now only allowed two goals in 120 minutes this season
• UMass Boston has now beaten Babson College in three of their last four matchups
• The UMass Boston penalty kill went 6-for-7 on the afternoon and 10-for-11 on the weekend
• The faceoff circle was dominated by UMass Boston who won 33-of-49 draws

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston gets ready for a pair of tough road matchups next weekend with the first coming against Hobart College, currently ranked first in the USCHO Division III Men's Poll. In November, the two teams squared off at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink with the Beacons falling 3-0 to the Statesmen.