BURRILLVILLE, R.I. – The Nichols College and Wentworth Institute of Technology men's ice hockey teams battled to a 2-2 tie on Wednesday night in a key ECAC Northeast tilt played at Levy Rink. With the result, the Bison move to 12-7-1 overall and 5-3-1 in the conference while the Leopards (10-8-2) continue to pace the league with a 6-2-1 ledger.
After 60 minutes of action, the game headed into a 4-on-4 overtime session that saw Leopard sophomore Seric Kapp (Scheafferstown, Pa.) almost sent everyone home but his shot glanced off the iron 3:25 into the frame. Wentworth peppered Bison first-year goaltender Alex Larson (Madison, Ala.) with four shots as Nichols took two shots of its own.
Nichols sophomore Brett Jackson (Larchmont, N.Y.) dented the scoreboard first as he knocked home a feed from senior Danny Greiner (Columbus, Ohio) at 8:05 into the game. The play began as first-year Frank Butler (East Haven, Conn.) skated down the center of the ice and dished off to Greiner to setup the one-timer. The hosts held a 11-5 lead on shots as each team went 0-for-1 on the power play.
The second period saw each team find the back of the net with the Bison once again on top heading into the locker room. Leopard sophomore Ben Iwanowski (Dorval, Que.) sent in a shot that glanced off junior Patrick Rice (West Des Moines, Iowa) to even the game at 1-1 just 2:42 into the stanza. At the 7:30 mark, senior Bryan Gill (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) fired a howitzer through traffic as Nichols claimed the 2-1 advantage. Jackson and first-year Sean Fleming (Eastampton, N.J.) were each credited with assists on the goal. Wentworth outshot the Bison 13-9 and had a pair of power play chances while the Bison had one.
The Leopards tied the game for good 47 seconds into the third when rookie Adam Frank (Clarkston, Mich.) took advantage of a power play that carried over from the previous period with help from sophomore Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Que.) and senior Shaun Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.). Nichols claimed a slim 11-9 lead in shots for the frame and the visitors were on the power play twice early in the period.
Larson (6-5-1) turned away 29 shots for the Bison. Leopard rookie goaltender Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) finished the game with a game-best 31 stops as he moves to 7-2-1.
Nichols hosts Becker for the rubber game of the season series at 7:40 p.m. Wentworth entertains Johnson & Wales on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
(Recap Courtesy of Nichols Sports Information)
