BABSON PARK, Mass. – Babson College scored five goals over the final two periods and senior captain Zeke Testa (Wellesley, Mass.) made 19 saves as the Beavers defeated the visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology, 6-1, in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament at the Babson Skating Center on Wednesday night.
With their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1992, the Beavers (18-6-5), ranked ninth in the nation by D3hockey.com and 10th by U.S. College Hockey Online, advance to the National Quarterfinals for the first time since 2007.
With the loss, Wentworth, ranked 15th in the country by USCHO, sees its outstanding season come to a close with a record of 16-9-3.
Babson opened with a dominating first period, outshooting the Leopards 13-2 and netting the game's first goal. Taking a blue line pass from junior Ben Kravitz (Huntington, N.Y.), junior defenseman Matt Furey (Quincy, Mass.) ripped a shot from the left point that was tipped inside the right post by junior Troy Starrett (Bellingham, Mass.) at 7:45. The Beavers then killed a Leopard powerplay late in the period thanks to three straight blocked shots by junior defenseman Shayne Anderson (Dorchester, Mass.).
The hosts continued to pour on the offense in the first nine minutes of the second period, netting two more goals to increase their lead to 3-0. Senior PT Donato (Arlington, Mass.) scored the first when he redirected first-year Mike Vollmin's (Wilmington, N.C.) shot from the right point past Wentworth goalie Joel Miller (Calgary, Alberta) at 3:58, and Starrett potted the second when he tipped in a shot by classmate Connor Berto (Lake Forest, Ill.) at 8:36.
The Leopards gained some momentum over the remainder of the second, culminating with their first goal of the night at 17:53. Taking a pass from sophomore Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Quebec), sophomore Beau Burgau (New Ulm, Minn.) fired a wrister from the left point that was saved by Testa. First-year Adam Frank (Clarkston, Mich.) then collected the rebound in the middle of the right circle and fired a shot past the senior goaltender to make it 3-1.
That would be the lone blemish of the night for Testa, who stopped all six shots that he faced in the third. Meanwhile, Babson tacked on three more goals, as first-year Max Franklin (Wrentham, Mass.) scored on a shot from the left point at 2:15 and senior Jay Haseley (Rochester, N.Y.) tallied back-to-back scores at 14:49 and 19:19.
Testa finished with 19 saves on the night, while Miller made 27 stops in goal for Wentworth.
Watch head coach R.J. Tolan and senior Shaun Jameson's post-game press conference here
(Recap Courtesy of Babson College Sports Information)
