HARRISVILLE, R.I. – Five different players tallied goals, including junior J.B. Baker (Columbia, Md.) who also had an assist, as the Nichols College ice hockey team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 5-2, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest at Levy Rink.
The Bison pick up a win in their season opener while the Leopards slip to 0-2-1 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Nichols struck first as the Bison scored first as junior J.B. Baker (Columbia, Md.) took a shot which was saved by freshman Thomas Draper (Binghamton, N.Y.). Baker picker up his own rebound and found the back of the net at 2:09 of the contest. At the 14:34 mark, the hosts upped their lead to 2-0 when freshman Curtis Carlson (Lakewood, N.Y.) netted a shorthanded tally. Nichols had a 21-9 shot advantage in the opening frame.
The Bison tallied three times in the second period with freshman Justin Perron (Thetford Mines, Que.) making it a 3-0 game as he scored from just inside the blue line at 3:08 of the second period. At 4:52, Baker and freshman Lucas Andersson (Stockholm, Sweden) set up senior Matthew Menta (Lima, Pa.). Senior Ben Campbell (Duluth, Minn.) and junior Vincent Crivello (Rosemere, Que.) assisted on freshman Petr Miko's (Zlin, Czech Republic) goal which made it 5-0 at 7:30. Wentworth, however, had an 11-8 shot advantage in the middle frame.
At 7:32 of the third period, the Leopards broke the shutout bid as junior Georgy Gorodetsky (Yekaterinburg, Russia) made it a 5-1 game with his goal from freshman Joey O'Leary (Boston, Mass.) and senior Adam Lane (Sarnia, Ont.). Senior Angus Johnston (Calgary, Alta.) made it a 5-2 game with a power-play goal from senior Sam Levin (Simsbury, Conn.) and sophomore Brendan Lloyd (Merrick, N.Y.) at 17:01.
Sophomore Henry Burns (Camillus, N.Y.) picked up the win, making 31 saves on the night. Draper made 30 saves for the Black & Gold, who were outshot, 35-33.
The two teams face off again tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at Allied Veterans Rink in Everett, Mass.
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