Sitting just two points behind Norwich with a game in hand and a Saturday matchup on tap with the Cadets this weekend, the Babson Beavers are in a great position in the first season for the Little East Conference. With just six games remaining in the regular season, no one is taking anything for granted, but this year’s team has truly seen the best from everyone trending in a very positive direction come the most crucial part of the season.
“I’ve been through four cycles of the four years with players,” noted head coach Jamie Rice. “It is somewhat surprising that we are seeing different results this season vs. last season from essentially the same group. We certainly have seen better goaltending this year from Nate [Mueller] and significant contributions from Jimmy [Fallon and Evan [Brown] but our fourteen seniors that play regularly are each having some of their best seasons since they have been here at Babson and it is that collective success that has led us to where we are at right now. No guarantees on where we go beyond the next sixteen days, but this group really appreciates each other and that is part of the success recipe this season.”
Last year Babson finished their last season in the NEHC with a 13-11-2 overall record and 11-8-1 in conference play. While going 8-4-1 on home ice the Beavers struggled on the road going just 5-7-1. Flash forward to this season where Babson is riding a five-game win streak and sits at 15-2-2 overall, 10-1-1 in Little East play and a combined 8-0-0 in road or neutral site games this season. The turnaround has been impressive, and according to their coach may lead back to a senior that has never played a game for the Green & White.
“We really have sixteen seniors this year,” said Rice. “Tommy [Rooney] hasn’t played due to injury and Jake Thibeault has never played here but has been a significant part of our program since day one. His recovery and perseverance from his spinal cord injury sustained while playing at Milton Academy has been nothing short of amazing and it has had a profound effect on our team and those seniors closest to him. We opened the season with two games against Fitchburg State to raise money for The Thomas E Smith Foundation supporting Jake and others recovering from spinal injuries. Former player Nik Tasiopoulous donated a second set of green away jerseys that featured Jake’s motto – Thibeault Tough! I think the guys like the jerseys a lot, including their names on the back, but most of all get a lot of strength and courage from Jake that is symbolized in those jerseys. Don’t know if that is the part of the formula, but we have played well wearing those away shirts!”
With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, Babson has just three more weekends of games before their first ever playoff tournament in the LEC. While no specific playoff position is confirmed, the team has continued to excel with different players stepping up each game to provide a big goal that has led to wins.
“The first-years come here and are all excited with the newness of school and college hockey,” noted Rice. “You basically have a 100-game guarantee when you start your college career. That’s all. I tell the team that “days are long, but years are short.” These seniors have seen it all going to a championship game their first year and getting knocked out in the quarterfinals the next season. They can see the end of their hockey days and are really enjoying what they have left together.”
Babson play four of their final six regular season games on the road starting with Friday’s matchup against VTSU-Castleton followed by Norwich on Saturday. Surely, the special green shirts are going to see some more action down the stretch run to the playoffs.