SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College ice hockey team returns to New England Hockey Conference play with an important early test, taking on the NEHC's top teams in Babson and No. 9/9 UMass Boston this weekend. The Thoroughbreds will take on Babson Friday at 7 p.m., ending the weekend at UMass Boston Saturday at 4 p.m.
The Thoroughbreds (4-3-1, 2-1-1 NEHC) returns to league action sitting in a tie for fourth place with five points. Last weekend was the 13
th annual Skidmore Thanksgiving Invitational, and the Thoroughbreds put in a solid performance. Skidmore defeated Post by a 5-2 score last Saturday, and lost in a hard-fought championship game to then- No. 6/9 Salve Regina by a 3-2 score on Sunday.
Over the weekend, both sophomore forwards
Matt Muzyka and
Brandon Borges earned Skidmore Thanksgiving Invitational All-Tournament honors. Borges tallied a goal and two assists in two games, while Muzyka scored two goals and added an assist. Muzyka was named to the NEHC Honor Roll for the second consecutive week for his efforts. Muzyka and Borges are tied for the team lead in scoring with 10 points, with Muzyka leading the team in goals (six, with four assists) and Borges leading the team in assists (seven, with three goals). Junior forward
Owen Campbell (two goals, four assists—six points) and senior forward
Adam Moodie (3-2—5) round out the top-four. Leading the defensemen in scoring is senior
Corey Morgan (2-3—5), with rookie
Austin Rook (2-2—4) right behind.
It's been a balanced scoring effort for the Thoroughbreds this season. Of their 23 skaters on the roster this season, 19 have tallied at least a point. Eight players have bagged two or more goals, while 12 players have two or more assists.
In net, junior goalie
Brandon Kasel has made seven starts, sporting a 2.29 goals against average and a .920 save percentage, going 4-3 overall.
"We are eager to get back into league play this weekend," said head coach
Rob Hutchison. "Both Babson and UMass Boston have excellent teams, and we feel like this weekend is a great opportunity for us to show we belong in the mix of the top teams in the NEHC and country."
Babson, receiving votes in both the D3hockey.com and USCHO.com national polls, skates into the weekend with a 7-2-1 overall record and a 5-0-1 mark in NEHC play, good for second place in the conference with 11 points. The Beavers dropped its first two games of the season last weekend, falling to Williams and Amherst by 3-2 scores.
The Beavers are a young, but talented team led by sophomore forward Nick Rosa. He has 13 points, via seven goals and six assists. Rookie forward Mike Egan leads the team in assists with eight, and has 11 points on the season, while fellow rookie forward Matt Wiesner leads the team in goals with eight, to go along with his two assists for 10 points. In net, seniors Bryan Botcher and Matt Pompa have split time in net. Botcher leads with a 1.60 goals against average and a .945 save percentage, while Pompa holds a 2.62 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
Last season, Babson swept the season series against Skidmore, winning all four games, including an overtime victory in the regular season, and a two-OT win in the NEHC Quarterfinal, the longest game in Skidmore history at 90:26.
UMass Boston (8-1, 6-0 NEHC) is ranked ninth in both polls and is the top team in the conference with 12 points. The Beacons will take on No. 12/12 Hobart on Friday before hosting Skidmore on Saturday.
Last weekend, the Beacons suffered its first loss of the season to Southern New Hampshire on Saturday, but rebounded with a 3-1 victory against UMass Dartmouth.
Nolan Redler leads UMass Boston in scoring with 13 points on eight goals and five assists. Nick Albano leads all NEHC defensemen in scoring with 12 points on three goals and a team-leading nine assists. Zach Bross rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10 points on five goals and five assists. In net, Bailey MacBurnie has played seven on nine games in net, and sports a 1.43 GAA with a .931 save percentage.
Last season, UMass Boston won the first two games of the season series, but Skidmore topped the Beacons in the series finale, 3-2 in overtime on Feb. 2.
