BABSON PARK, Mass. – Senior
Cam Patton (Truro, Nova Scotia) scored twice but the #11 Plymouth State University men's ice hockey team suffered a 5-4 setback to Babson College at the Babson Skating Center on Saturday evening.
Both teams were stout on defense to start the skirmish, but the Panthers opened the scoreline midway through the second period. Babson would quickly tie the score then go ahead late in the frame, but junior
Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) evened things at 2-2 with 1:49 left in the period.
Patton tallied his first within the first two minutes of the third to give PSU a 3-2 edge, but Babson clapped back to tie it once again. The Beavers leapfrogged back into the lead midway through the frame, but Patton answered with less than two minutes on the clock to draw even at 4-4. The hosts found the back of the net with just four seconds left on the clock to eke out the 5-4 win.
Plymouth State slips to 0-2-0, while the Beavers win their season opener (1-0-0).
The Basics:
- #11 Plymouth State 4, Babson 5
- Plymouth State (0-2-0)
- Babson (1-0-0)
How it Happened:
- The first period was quiet as neither team could score, sending it to the middle stanza.
- The Panthers got on the board when sophomore Will Pray (Wheaton, Ill.) smashed the puck into the net off feeds from seniors Donte' DiPonio (Trenton, Mich.) and Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) for a 1-0 lead.
- Babson responded within the next minute to tie it, then jumped ahead off a power play opportunity to make it 2-1.
- Redick snapped back with a power play goal of his own late in the period to tie the game at 2-2.
- Patton wasted no time, scoring 2:39 into the third period to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead, but Babson was unfazed as the Beavers scored less than 20 seconds later and the hosts went back in front at the 8:06 mark of the frame.
- With less than two minutes on the clock, Patton potted his second of the night on assists from junior Rider McCallum (Langley, British Columbia) and Stuckless to try to push the game to overtime.
- Babson pulled away in the final seconds to solidify the game, 5-4.
By the Numbers:
- Sophomore Connor Strobel (Butler, Pa.) made 35 saves in the affair.
- The Panthers outshot Babson by a narrow 42-40 margin.
- Babson went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Panthers were 1-for-4.
- Redick led the team with ten faceoff wins as PSU went 38-31 in the circle.
- Babson has held the upper hand in the series, with a 7-2-1 mark. Six of the games were decided by just one goal, though, with the previous two meetings ending in overtime.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State celebrates its home opener against #9 Plattsburgh State during the annual Salute the Troops game on Friday (Nov. 8) at 6:00 p.m.
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