BABSON PARK, Mass. - Sophomore Dan Casey (Chatham, N.J./Kent School) scored with 22.7 seconds left in overtime as nationally-ranked Babson College beat the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team, 3-2, in Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East action at the Babson Skating Center on Saturday. The Purple Knights, playing their second overtime game in as many days, slip to 8-15-2 overall and 5-12-1 in the league, while the Beavers improve to 17-5-3 and 12-4-2. Babson is ranked 10th in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division III national poll. Both teams concluded their respective regular seasons with Saturday's contest.

Sophomore Justin McKenzie (Hawthorne, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) registered one goal and one assist for Saint Michael's, with senior John Teulings (Hamden, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall) providing the other goal. First-year Eric Salzillo (Johnston, R.I./Boston Bandits) chipped in an assist. Junior Michael Comitini (Hudson, Quebec/Cornwall Colts) stopped 33 shots in his fourth start of the season.

Sophomore Bill Seligman (Toronto, Ontario/Lakeshore Patriots) finished the day with one goal and one assist for Babson, with first-year Rob Devaney (Reading, Mass./Phillips Academy) also scoring. Senior Joe DiPietro (Pembroke, Mass./Dexter) provided three assists, while sophomore Michael Phillips (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Boston Bandits) and first-year Matt Holtshouser (Londonderry, N.H./New Hampshire Monarchs) both added a helper. Junior Jamie Murray (Scituate, Mass./South Shore Kings) made 29 saves for the win.

With the visitors unable to capitalize on three shots to start overtime, Babson made a charge with just under 30 seconds left in extra time. After breaking through the neutral zone and past the Purple Knight defenders, Seligman scooted up the ice on a breakaway and snapped a shot from the middle of the slot that was swatted away by Comitini's glove. The Beavers quickly regained possession in their zone, as DiPietro collected the puck and fed a pass to Casey, who jammed in the puck to the right side of the net for the winning marker.

During regulation, the visitors were the ones who recorded today's first goal. On their second shot of the opening period, the Purple Knights took a 1-0 lead when McKenzie passed to Teulings, who fired a shot from the left circle that went top shelf past Murray at 3:21. Babson looked to even the score when junior Mike Vollmin (Wilmington, N.C./Northern Mass Cyclones) and Seligman skated into the zone on an odd-man rush, with Vollmin feeding Seligman on a one-touch pass, but Seligman sent the shot wide right with 2:32 left to play. The Beavers then pulled even when Devaney's shot from just inside the left face-off dot ricocheted off the crossbar and into the net with only 48 seconds remaining in the period.

The second stanza favored the Purple Knights as they enjoyed a 14-8 shot advantage while netting their second goal of the contest. Off of a Babson turnover in its defensive zone, Murray and McKenzie raced to the loose puck, but it was McKenzie who got the puck and he buried home the go-ahead tally at 6:07. The Purple and Gold was able to kill off a penalty halfway through the period thanks to a pair of blocked shots and a Comitini save.

The back-and-forth affair continued into the third period as Babson accounted for one goal on 12 shots. Of those 12, none came during the opening seven minutes. After going on the power play for the fourth time of the game, Babson knotted up the score at 2-2 just five seconds into the man advantage when Phllips' face-off win kicked to DiPietro, who then slapped a blue line shot that was redirected low in the slot by Seligman at 7:12. Comitini remained unbeaten during the rest of the period, as did Murray, whose glove save robbed junior Nick Potter's (Stoneham, Mass./The Brooks School) scoring bid with 1:50 to go in the stanza.

The Purple Knights will return home to play against an opponent to be determined in the semifinal round next Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. Saint Michael's, which clinched a share of the NE-10 regular-season title with Stonehill College, secured the top seed in the tournament after winning a tie-breaking coin toss conducted by the league.