PLYMOUTH, N.H. – For the second straight day Plymouth State University suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Babson College as the Beavers snuck out a 3-1 win in a men's ice hockey game at Hanaway Rink on Saturday afternoon.
The Beavers built a two-goal lead over the first 25 minutes, but junior
Mike McPherson (Somerville, Mass.) cut the deficit in half in the final seconds of the second period with his second goal in as many days. The teams battled back-and-forth throughout the third period, but Babson held on for the win after an empty net goal in the final minute squelched the Panthers' comeback bid.
Freshman
Kalle Andersson (Taby, Sweden) was impressive between the pipes for PSU, finishing the day with 32 saves including several acrobatic stops on close-range shots.
The win gives Babson a sweep of the weekend series and runs the Beavers' record to a perfect 6-0, while Plymouth State falls to an even 2-2.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 1, Babson 3
- Plymouth State (2-2-0)
- Babson (6-0-0)
Three Stars:
- Plymouth State
- Babson
- Ryan Black (game-winning goal)
- Nolan Hildebrand (25 saves)
How it Happened:
- Babson struck first midway through the opening period when junior Jack Nisbet (Scituate, Mass.) picked up a loose puck in the defensive zone and skated the length of the ice. His wrist shot from the right faceoff circle deflected off Andersson's shoulder and in for a 1-0 lead at 8:41.
- Plymouth State nearly got the equalizer in the opening minute of the second when senior Peter Laviolette (Brentwood, Tenn.) got behind the defense on a breakaway, but sophomore goalie Nolan Hildebrand (Penticton, British Columbia) was up to the challenge.
- The Beavers doubled their lead at 5:17 during four-on-four action. Andersson made a brilliant save off a pointblank shot from senior Nick Rosa (Birmingham, Mich.), but junior Ryan Black (Pomfret, Conn.) was there to clean up the rebound.
- PSU cut into the margin with a power play tally in the final minute of the stanza when McPherson dove to ice to wrap a loose puck just past the reach of Hildebrand to make it 2-1.
- Babson nearly made it 3-1 just over three minutes into the final period when junior John Corrigan (Stoneham, Mass.) fed classmate Max Torrez (Framingham, Mass.) on a two-on-one, but Andersson sprawled post-to-post to make a spectacular save.
- Plymouth State put on heavy pressure with an extra skater after pulling Andersson with 1:16 left on the clock, but senior Christian Faggas (Norwood, Mass.) put the game away after clearing the puck from Babson's defensive zone the length of the ice and into the open net.
By the Numbers:
- Hildebrand improved to 2-0-0 with his 25-save effort, while Andersson's (1-1-0) 32 saves were a new personal best.
- Babson outshot the Panthers by a 35-26 margin.
- PSU finished the day 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Panthers' penalty kill unit held the Beavers scoreless in six chances.
- With the weekend sweep the Beavers improve to 3-1-1 all-time against Plymouth State.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State hosts Norwich University on Friday (Mar. 12) to kick off next weekend's home-and-home series. Puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m.
- The Beavers are also in action on Friday, playing host to New England College at 6:30 p.m.
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