BABSON PARK, Mass.—Babson College erased three different one-goal deficits before beating Skidmore College 4-3 in overtime in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) men's ice hockey action on Friday night inside the Babson Skating Center.
It was the third straight overtime game between the teams, including a 3-2 double OT Babson win in the 2018 NEHC Quarterfinals.
With the win, Babson snapped a two-game skid to improve to 8-2-1 overall and 6-0-1 in league play. Skidmore dips to 4-4-1 overall and 2-2-1 in the NEHC.
Sophomore Matt Muzyka (Cheshire, Conn.) finished with a goal and an assist, while junior Tim Allen (Smithfield, R.I.) and first-year Avery Steele (Colchester, Vt.) both scored for the Thoroughbreds. Junior goaltender Brandon Kasel (Ithaca, N.Y.) turned away 35 shots in defeat.
Trailing 3-2 late in the third period, Babson pulled even when Christian Faggas put away the rebound of John Corrigan's shot off the Pipe at the 14:02 mark. Skidmore was able to kill off a delay of game penalty late in regulation, but Ryan Black intercepted an errant in the neutral zone and drove the net before spinning to find Matt Wiesner with a centering feed for the game winner midway through the extra session.
Both teams killed off a pair of first-period penalties, which included Kasel making four saves after Skidmore was whistled for cross-checking at the 16:16 mark. The Thoroughbreds jumped in front 1-0 just 2:37 into the second when Steele tucked home the rebound of a shot by Morgan from the left point for his first career goal.
Babson tied it at the 7:10 mark. Skidmore went back in front less than six minutes later though, as Muzyka regained control of the puck and slid a pass across the slot for Steele, who slipped a shot inside the post to make it 2-1.
Nick Rosa notched his eighth goal of the season 40 seconds into the third period to pull Babson even, only to see Muzyka shovel a backhand shot past Botcher following two terrific saves by Kasel to put the Thoroughbreds back in front 3-2 with 12:23 to go in regulation.
The Beavers, who went 0-for-3 on the power play, outshot the visitors 39-22 on the night.
Both teams return to action on Saturday at 4 p.m. as Babson hosts No. 12/12 Hobart, while Skidmore travels to No. 9/9 UMass Boston.
