SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College hockey team looks towards its stretch run, returning to New England Hockey Conference action for the final 10 contests of the season. The race towards the postseason begins this weekend, with Skidmore hosting UMass Boston and Babson.
The Thoroughbreds will begin the weekend against UMass Boston on Friday at 7 p.m., and wrap up the weekend with a visit from Babson on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Live stats and
streaming video will be available for both contests. Admission is free for everyone.
Skidmore (2-12-1, 0-7-1 NEHC) comes off its first victory against a ranked opponent this season, defeating No. 7 Hobart 2-1 in the consolation game of the 2018 Pathfinder Bank/Oswego Hockey Classic. The Skidmore defense provided the scoring in the victory, with
Connor Pelkey tying things up at 1 on a power-play goal, and
Chris Javens netting the game-winner in the second period.
Brandon Kasel had one of his best performances of the season, stopping 39 shots to earn All-Tournament honors and a spot on the NEHC Honor Roll this past Monday. This season, Kasel has appeared in 14-of-15 games and started in 13, sporting a 3.19 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.
Skidmore has seen balanced scoring from its group this season, with 12 players scoring a goal, and 16 players registering at least one point. Rookie
Matt Muzyka leads the team in scoring with 10 points on four goals and six assists.
Tim Allen is second with eight points on three goals and five assists. Co-Captain
Adam Moodie shares the team lead in goals, with four.
Corey Morgan leads all Skidmore defenders with five points on a goal and four assists.
UMass Boston comes into this weekend with a 11-4 overall record, sitting in a tie for second place in the league standings with 12 points (6-2 record). Ranked seventh in the latest USCHO national polls and 10
th in the d3hockey.com polls, the Beacons come off a weekend split at the 53
rd annual Codfish Bowl Invitational, beating Williams 9-3 before falling in the waning moments to Salve Regina, 3-2.
The Beacons are led by returning NEHC Player of the Year Colin Larkin, who once again leads the league in scoring with 26 points, on 14 goals and 12 assists. He is second in the nation in points per game at 1.89. The senior is flanked with three other 20-point scorers in Zack Bross (6-18—24), Nolan Redler (15-8—23) and defender Nick Albano (4-16—20). In net, Bailey MacBurnie has started in 12 of 15 contests, and holds a 2.09 goals against average, along with a .919 save percentage to go 10-2.
It's the second of three matchups between the teams this season. The Beacons were able to defeat the Thoroughbreds 5-2, in Boston back on Nov. 18. Morgan and
John Litscher provided the goals for the Thoroughbreds in the contest. The teams split the season series last year, with each team winning on its home ice.
Babson enters the weekend with a 7-5-2 record overall, and is in fourth place in the league standings with 12 points (5-2-1 record). The Beavers head to Hobart on Friday, before finishing the weekend in Saratoga Springs on Saturday. In its last contest, Babson fell to Plattsburgh by a 4-1 score in the W.B. Mason Winter Classic.
Rob Devaney leads the squad in scoring with 13 points on five goals and eight assists. Charlie Ackerman (5-5—10) and Matt McMorrow (3-7—10) each have 10 points. Six of the top seven scorers for Babson are seniors. In goal, Matt Pompa has played in 14 of the 15 games for the Beavers, including 13 starts. He holds a 2.19 goals against average and a .929 save percentage, going 6-5-2.
Skidmore fell to Babson earlier in the season by a 4-1 score on the road. The final two games of the three-game season series will be in Saratoga Springs.
