Skidmore (6-6-1, 5-1 NEHC) vs. University of Southern Maine (5-7, 2-4 NEHC)
Game Details: Friday, Jan. 6 | 7 p.m.
Location: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – Saratoga City Rink
Game Links: Live Stats | Video
Skidmore: Roster | Stats
Southern Maine: Roster | Stats

Skidmore (6-6-1, 5-1 NEHC) vs. Daniel Webster (1-11)
Game Details: Saturday, Jan. 7 | 4 p.m.
Location: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – Saratoga City Rink
Game Links: Live Stats | Video
Skidmore: Roster | Stats
Daniel Webster: Roster | Stats
 
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's hockey team readies for a sprint to the finish with the first pair of 12 NEHC games to wrap up the season, starting this weekend.
 
The Thoroughbreds will host the University of Southern Maine on Friday at 7 p.m., before taking on Daniel Webster on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both games are at the Saratoga City Rink.
 
The Thoroughbreds (6-6-1, 5-1 New England Hockey Conference) returns to league play after dropping a pair of games to ranked Hamilton earlier this week. The Continentals defeated Skidmore 5-1 in Clinton, N.Y. on New Year's Day and pulled away in the third period of a 4-1 victory the next day in Saratoga Springs. Forward Jack Barton scored on a third period feed from forward John Litscher in the opener, and got his second goal in as many games the next day off assists by defenseman Quincy Gregg and forward Matt Wolf.
 
Barton is second among all Thoroughbred freshmen with three goals on the season, to go along with his four points total (3 goals, 1 assist). The freshman class has been solid on the season, as the group has contributed nearly 44 percent of the team's scoring and 46 percent of the team's assist output. Forward Owen Campbell leads the group in goals (4), while he and fellow forward Tim Allen share the points lead with six. Gregg leads the Thoroughbreds and all freshmen with six assists.
 
In goal, Brandon Kasel has been solid in his first season between the pipes. In five starts, Kasel sports a 3-2 record with a .910 save percentage. He collected his first career shutout against
 
As a team, the Thoroughbreds have allowed just 11 goals in league play, which is tied for Babson for the best mark. The team is second in scoring defense (1.83 goals per game) while sitting in fourth in scoring offense (3.67 goals per game) in conference play. Overall, Skidmore is the league's top penalty kill team, stopping an impressive 87.2 percent (68-for-78) of power-play chances.
Southern Maine comes into the weekend sporting a 5-7 record with a 2-4 mark in NEHC play. The Huskies will be playing in their first game of 2017 after taking a month-long break. In their last game, the Huskies fell to Bowdoin on the road by a 3-0 score on Dec. 6.
 
Southern Maine has been solid on the power-play in league contests, sitting second in the league with a 31.4 percent rate (11-for-35). The Huskies are led by Brett Norman, who holds the team lead in points (14) and assists (11). Cody Braga, Cole Klippenstein, Tyler Mathieu, and Brett Norman lead the team with three goals each. In goal, Kyle Shapiro has started the majority of the games, with a 2.24 goals against average and a .939 save percentage to go along with his 4-4 record in nine starts.
 
Skidmore and Southern Maine split the season series last season. In the first game on Jan. 8, 2016, Skidmore defenseman Connor Pelkey scored the game's lone goal and goalie Jack McDonald turned away all 25 shots he faced in the 1-0 victory in Maine. In Saratoga Springs on Feb. 13, forward Will Golden and defenseman Corey Morgan tallied goals, but Southern Maine got the last laugh, winning 3-2 in overtime on a Mathieu goal 19 seconds in.
 
Daniel Webster comes into the contest with a 1-11 record, and is also coming off a month-long break. The last time the team played was on Dec. 10, when they fell to Lebanon Valley 6-4. The Eagles will take on Castleton in Vermont on Friday, before hopping over the border to Saratoga Springs on Saturday. This is the first-ever contest between Skidmore and Daniel Webster, as this is the second season of Division III play for the Eagles.
 
The Eagles are led by forward Ryan Murray, who leads the team in goals, assists and points (6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points). Forward Matt Fitzpatrick is second on the team with five points on three goals and two assists, while forward Tanner Todd is second on the team with four goals.
 
Morgan Hudson and Anthony D'Urso have split time in goal this season. D'Urso has the advantage, sporting a 4.71 goals against average and an .898 save percentage, going 1-4, while Hudson holds a 7.11 goals against average and an .873 save percentage.