Schneider's Two Goals Help Babson Hockey Knock Off Skidmore, 3-2, In ECAC East Semifinals

BOX SCORE

HENNIKER, N.H. -- The Babson College men's ice hockey team advanced to its second ECAC East Tournament Final in three years on Friday, as the seventh-seeded Beavers defeated sixth-seeded Skidmore College, 3-2, in the conference semifinals at New England College. With the victory, Babson (12-13-1) will now play #8 UMass-Boston in the Championship Game on Saturday at 4 p.m. - the tournament's first-ever final between a seventh and eighth seed.

Junior Jason Schneider (Littleton, Mass.) scored a pair of goals for the Beavers, while first-year Terry Woods (Duxbury, Mass.) added another. Rookie goalie Andrew Peabody (Marblehead, Mass.) went the distance in net for Babson, stopping 16 of the 18 shots that he faced.

Skidmore grabbed a 1-0 lead when Joe Melnyk scored his seventh goal of the year at 14:18 of the first period. The Beavers then tied the contest four and a half minutes later, when Woods potted his sixth of the season off an assist from junior Corey Griffin (Hingham, Mass.) at 18:39.

The game remained even until the final minutes of the second period, when Schneider converted an assist from senior co-captain Brad Baldelli (Northborough, Mass.) at 18:04. Babson then made it 3-1 when Schneider netted his second of the day and team-leading 11th of the season off an Alex DiPietro (Winthrop, Mass.) assist at 6:48 of the third.

The Thouroughbreds would later cut the lead in half on a goal by Teddy Gowan at 12:40, but that would be all Peabody and the Babson defense would allow as the Beavers held on for the 3-2 victory. Babson held a commanding 35-18 shot advantage in the contest, including a dominating 20-4 mark in the second period.