For Immediate Release
Contact Dave Geringer, Sports Information Director, (508) 990-9651  [log in to unmask]
Tuesday, November 20, 2007					

HOCKEY TEAM FALLS TO BABSON, 3-1 

NEW BEDFORD, MA– All good things must come to an end, and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s hockey team saw their 30-game home unbeaten streak end at the hands of visiting Babson in a 3-1 non-conference defeat at the Stephan Hetland Memorial Ice Arena Tuesday evening.

Babson seized an early lead, getting a pair of first-period goals from forward Pat McLauglin. He deflected Jason Schneider’s centering pass past UMass Dartmouth junior goaltender Jeff Green (Medway, MA/Valley Jr. Warriors) at the 11:45 mark, then took a pass from Schneider at the edge of the crease and fired a wrist shot high into the net at 14:39. Shane Farrell also assisted on both goals.

The Beavers increased their lead in the third period as John Geverd took a pass from J.T. Balben and scored from point-blank range to make it 3-0. Corsair freshman forward Jason Stahl (Londonderry, NH/Valley Jr. Warriors) broke the shutout bid of Babson goaltender Skylar Nipps when he deflected home a shot by freshman defenseman Mickey Dudley (Douglas, MA/Boston Jr. Bruins) with 40 seconds remaining. Freshman forward Joe   Hill (Newburyport, MA/Valley Jr. Warriors) also assisted. 

“Babson is a very good team,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach John Rolli. “We just couldn’t get the puck to bounce our way tonight, but that’s a testament to the way they played. They are a step quicker and more experienced than we are. I think we gained a lot playing a game like this, even though we lost. We have to build on this.”

The defeat was the first at home for the Corsairs since they lost to Plymouth State, 3-2 in overtime on November 19, 2005, ending a streak in which UMass Dartmouth was 29-0-1 in their last 30 games at Hetland. 

The Beavers out shot the Corsairs, 30-14. Green made 27 saves, while Nipps made 13. The Corsairs dropped to 3-0 with the defeat, while the Beavers improved to 3-0 with the victory.

UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they visit Fitchburg State next Wednesday, November 28th. Babson will host Potsdam State in the first round of the Babson/Irving Oil Tournament Saturday afternoon.

UMASS DARTMOUTH HOCKEY
Babson (3-0-0) vs. UMass Dartmouth (3-1-0)
 Date: Nov 20, 2007  Location: New Bedford, MA       Arena: Hetland Ice Arena
 Attendance:693   Start time:7:30 pm   End time:9:40 pm   Total time:2:10

 Goals by Period       1  2  3  Tot
 ----------------------------------
 Babson..............  2  0  1 -  3
 UMass Dartmouth.....  0  0  1 -  1

   1st period - 1, BABM, Pat McLaughlin/1 (Jason Schneider/1, Shane
Farrell/3) 11:45. 2, BABM, Pat McLaughlin/2 (Jason Schneider/2, Shane
Farrell/4) 14:39. Penalties -

   2nd period - Penalties - Pat McLaughlin, BABM (hooking) 8:59; Paul
Moran, UMDM (boarding) 10:49.

   3rd period - 3, BABM, John Geverd/2 (JT Balben/3) 3:32. 4, UMDM,
Jason Stahl/3 (Mickey Dudley/4, Joseph Hill/6) 19:20. Penalties -

   Shots on goal - BABM 10-7-13 30; UMDM 4-5-5 14.

   Power plays - BABM 0 of 1; UMDM 0 of 1.

   Penalties - BABM 1 (2 min); UMDM 1 (2 min).

   Goalies - BABM, Skylar Nipps 3-0-0 (60:00 minutes, 14 shots-13
saves); UMDM, Jeff Green 3-1-0 (60:00, 30-27).

   Penalty shots - None.

 A-693  T-2:10
 Three stars: 1. Pat McLaughlin    2. John Geverd    3. Jeff Green
 Referee:Matt Smith  Linesman:Chip McDonald; Tim Kerrigan
 Win-Skylar Nipps (3-0-0).  Loss-Jeff Green (3-1-0).