BABSON PARK, Mass. – The New England College men's ice hockey team traveled to third seeded Babson College in the New England Hockey Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday, emerging victorious with a 2-0 win over the Beavers. 

THE BASICS 
Score: #6 New England College 2, #3 Babson 0 
Records: Pilgrims 11-14-1 | Beavers 13-11-2 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The NEHC quarterfinal matchup between the 'Grims and Beavers would remain an offensive stalemate through the first period, with freshman goaltender Anthony Beaulieu (Lawrence, Mass.) making 13 saves and Babson's Nate Mueller (Rogers, Minn.) matching the scoreless effort with nine stops of his own.  
• A 0-0 game entering the second period, that score would remain unchanged until with 7:56 left in the period, sophomore forward Gunnar Sibley (Monticello, Minn.) netted the go-ahead goal to put the Pilgrims ahead, 1-0. Assists on the goal were credited to freshman forward Vesse-Wincent Lampen (Espoo, Finland) and graduate defenseman Zach Nelson (Hudson, Mass.). 
• With 2:56 left in the game, game still sitting at 1-0, Babson would pull Mueller for an extra skater and the 6-on-5 opportunity. The decision would immediately pay off, however, not for the Beavers. A Babson shot would be blocked by sophomore forward Jakub Rusina (Frýdek-Místek, Czech Republic) and, seconds later, the puck would be deposited into the Beavers' empty net by senior forward Ike Taraszewski (Wayzata, Minn.). 
• Over the final 140 seconds, Babson would rattle off five shots with two being saved by Beaulieu and the other three blocked by a suffocating NEC defense. Babson would again pull Mueller with 22 seconds to go but nothing would come of it as the 'Grims held on for a statement 2-0 shutout win to survive and advance to the semifinals.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Beaulieu was spectacular in net for the 'Grims. The 2024-25 NEHC Rookie of the Year made 31 saves, blanking the Beavers in the freshman's biggest game of his short career. The shutout was his third of the season. 
• Mueller made 25 saves for Babson while conceding just one goal while on the ice. 
• Shots on goal were 31-27 in favor of the Beavers. 
• Sibley has been guns-a-blazing since the beginning of February, scoring a goal in 7-of-8 games dating back to the beginning of last month. After today's game-winner, the sophomore has scored goals in four straight contests. 
• The win is the program's first NEHC tournament win since 2021-22 and their first time advancing to the NEHC Semifinals since the 2019-20 season. 

UP NEXT 

• NEC is back on the ice for the NEHC Semifinals next Saturday, March 8th, while currently awaiting the other Quarterfinal results to determine their matchup. 

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.