Hockey to Travel to Babson for NCAA Tournament

BOSTON, Mass. – Fresh off capturing its second consecutive ECAC Northeast Championship, the Wentworth Institute of Technology ice hockey team has earned a berth into the 2013 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The Leopards (16-8-3) will play at Babson (17-6-5) in an opening-round contest on Wednesday, March 6, at a time to be determined.

The 11-team NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament field was announced on Sunday evening with eight institutions earning a spot by way of automatic qualification and three by way of at-large berths. The two other Wednesday night contests feature UMass Dartmouth (12-7-7) at Bowdoin (22-3-2) and St. John's (16-7-4) at Wisconsin-Eau Claire (20-5-2). Saturday's quarterfinals see the Wentworth/Babson winner traveling to Norwich (23-3-1), the Bowdoin/UMass Dartmouth winner traveling to Utica (20-5-1), and the St. John's/Wisconsin Eau-Claire winner traveling to St. Norbert (23-5-1), in addition to Oswego (23-4-0) traveling to Adrian (23-1-3). The semifinals and finals will be held the weekend of March 15-16 in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Wentworth, which defeated Salve Regina 3-1 in Sunday's title game, is making its sixth appearance in the national tournament since 2000 and has a 1-7 record in eight previous tournament games. The Leopards won their first-ever NCAA Tournament game in the opening round of the 2012 tournament, winning at Plymouth State by a 3-1 score. Babson is making its 15th NCAA Tournament appearance (including two in Division II) and first since the 2009 season. The Beavers, who won the first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship in 1984, have a 13-13-6 record in their 32 previous Division III tournament games (12 appearances).

The Leopards are led by senior defenseman Shaun Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.), who has five goals and 27 assists for a team-high 27 points. Sophomore forward Kevin Crowe (Galloway, N.J.) and freshman forward Mike Cox (Marlborough, Mass.) have both eclipsed the 20-point plateau as Crowe has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points and Cox had added five goals and 16 assists for 21 points. Crowe also leads the team with four power play goals. Jameson was named to the ECAC Northeast All-Tournament team and was joined by freshman forward Adam Frank (Clarkston, Mich.) and freshman goalie Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.).

Joining Jameson on the blue line are senior Reed Rushing (Seattle, Wash.), and sophomores Curtis Heinz (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Michael Heffner (Lloydminster, Sask.), and Ben Iwanowski (Dorval, Que.). The Leopard defensive corps is holding opponents to 2.15 goals per game, which ranks 12th nationally in Division III.

Miller, the Most Outstanding Player of the ECAC Northeast Tournament, is 13-2-2 with a 1.83 goals against average, a .930 save percentage, and one shutout. He ranks eighth in the country in goals against average, 13th in save percentage, and sixth in winning percentage and is also the fifth Leopard netminder to earn tournament MOP honors in their six championships.

Wentworth is 8-1-0 when leading after one period of play and 13-0-1 when leading after two periods. The Leopards have scored first in 14 of their 27 games and is 11-1-2 in those games.

Babson was ranked in both national polls on February 26 as the Beavers were 12th in the D3Hockey.com Men's Top 15 Poll and 13th in the USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll. The Beavers earned their way into the "big dance" by defeating Norwich, 2-1, in the ECAC East final on Saturday night. Senior PT Donato (Arlington, Mass.) leads the Beavers with three goals and 23 assists for 26 points. Junior forward Connor Berto (Lake Forest, Ill.) had 22 points on 16 goals and six assists, while sophomore forward Mike Driscoll (Milton, Mass.) has 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points. Five of his 11 goals have come on the power play.

Senor Zeke Testa (Wellesley, Mass.), the Most Outstanding Player of the ECAC East Tournament, has a 9-2-4 record with a 1.90 goals against average, a .934 save percentage, and one shutout. Testa ranks 10th nationally in goals against average, fifth in save percentage, and 16th in winning percentage.

The Beavers are 11-2-2 when leading after one period and 15-0-2 when holding a lead after the second period. Additionally, Babson has scored first in 17 of its 28 games and has a 13-2-2 record in those games.

Both teams enter Wednesday's game streaking along. Wentworth has won its last three games and is unbeaten in its last eight (6-0-2), while Babson is riding a winning streak of four and an unbeaten streak of seven (6-0-1).

This is just the third meeting all-time between these two schools, with Babson holding a 2-0 series edge. The Beavers won, 8-1, on January 16, 2007, in Babson Park, Mass., and took a 5-2 decision on January 28, 2008, at Matthews Arena.

Complete NCAA Bracket | D3hockey.com Release