BABSON PARK, Mass. - In a rematch of last year's New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) quarterfinal matchup, NEC and Babson College met up once again on Saturday on the ice at the Babson Skating Center in Babson Park, Massachusetts. While the two teams now play in a different conference, the result remained the same as the 'Grims upset the #7 ranked Beavers to hand them their first loss in Little East Conference (LEC) action.
The big regular season rematch remained scoreless until deep into the second period when freshman Matteo Viglino (Davos, Switzerland) broke it up with the game's first goal with 2:38 left in the period. Junior Gunnar Sibley (Monticello, Minn.), who scored the playoff game-winner against the Beavers last season, found Viglino in front of the Babson net for the go-ahead score.
Under a minute later, Babson looked to return the favor as an NEC penalty granted the hosts a power-play chance. However, junior Dylan Duckson (Mahtomedi, Minn.) had different plans. Duckson turned over the Beavers and raced down the ice alongside junior Jakub Rusina (Frýdek-Místek, Czech Republic) for a 2-on-1 fast break. The junior center kept it himself and sent a right-handed strike into the back of the Babson net for his second score of the weekend.
While the 'Grims took a 2-0 lead with the short-handed goal, the power-play chance continued for the Beavers. With 10 seconds left in the second period, Will Holland capitalized for Babson with the man-up goal to send a 2-1 game into the third period.
With 3:06 left in the game, Babson went empty net as they pulled goaltender Nate Mueller for what would be a dramatic final three minutes of game time. The Beavers took nine shots including four on goal – all of which were saved by sophomore Anthony Beaulieu (Lawrence, Mass.).
Beaulieu made a remarkable save with 22 seconds left in the game, swatting away a shot attempt from Babson's Charlie Andriole. Freshman Emil Elias (Ekerö, Sweden), making his first appearance of the season, had three blocks on the day, none more important than his body block of another Andriole shot with just 12 seconds to go. With just two seconds left on the clock, Duckson secured a game-clinching faceoff win to give the 'Grims the 2-1 victory.
In the win, Beaulieu totaled 40 saves while holding a team who had scored 16 times across their last three games to just the one power-play goal. Opposite him, Mueller had 27 stops in the loss. The win over the 7th ranked Beavers is the Pilgrims' best ranked win since January 18th, 2022, when they defeated #5 Babson, 4-1.
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