PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's ice hockey program had its hopes of playing for a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) championship dashed by Babson College as the Beavers scored in overtime to secure a 3-2 victory on Saturday inside the Murray Athletic Center. 

JUST THE BASICS:

SCORE: No. 7 Elmira 2, No. 8 Babson 3 OT

LOCATION: Pine Valley, New York | Murray Athletic Center

TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (18-6-2, 11-4-2 NEHC), Babson (18-5-2, 11-5-2 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Soaring Eagles and Beavers skated to a scoreless first half of the opening period before Matt Wiesner found the back of the net past Elmira goaltender Chris Janzen '21 at the 10:18 mark. The goal was assisted by John Corrigan and NEHC Player of the Year Ryan Black. With 2:01 remaining in the period, the Soaring Eagles got on a break which started with Bailey Krawczyk '24 and ended with a goal from the fifth-year captain Adam Eby '21. 

Janzen made 11 first-period saves, while Babson goaltender Brad Arvanitis made 14. Elmira worked around an early penalty for having too many men on the ice to carry a 1-1 tie into the break. 

The second period was quiet offensively for both teams, as Elmira led in shots 11-9. After two periods, Janzen increased his saves total to 20. 

In the third, each team was able to score a goal via the power-play. First, it was the Soaring Eagles who scored on a 5-v-4 opportunity when Shawn Kennedy '24 found the back of the net at the 7:05 mark after Jack Nisbet was sent to the box on a tripping call. Just ten seconds later, Cole Tucker '25 was sent to the box via a tripping call, and the Beavers executed just 20 seconds into the advantage. 

The Soaring Eagles and Beavers each fended off another power-play down the stretch as the game went to overtime tied 2-2. 

In the overtime session, the Soaring Eagles would have several opportunities to find of the back of the net but would be denied. EC recorded 11 shots on goal in the frame but it would be a shot off the stick of Black that would beat Janzen with 1:10 left to play to secure the victory for Babson. 

Janzen finished the contest with 41 saves in net for the Soaring Eagles, while Eby and Kennedy tallied the goals for Elmira. Christian Abrams '25 finished with a team-high eight shots for the Purple & Gold.