BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Mike Novella (New Haven, Conn.) notched his first collegiate goal and added an assist as the Wentworth hockey team picked up its third straight win with a 3-1 triumph over Nichols in ECAC Northeast action at Matthews Arena.
An evenly played first period saw the Leopards net the only goal as freshman Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Que.) netted a power play tally as he snuck a one-timer just under the crossbar on a pass from senior Skylur Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.). Both teams would put seven shots on net in the opening stanza. Also assisting on the goal was senior Casey Shade (Anchorage, Alaska).
The Bison evened the game at the 8:35 mark of the second period when senior Andrew Ella (Schomberg, Ont.) scored on a two-man advantage, with classmates Andrew Letellier (Saco, Maine) and Zach Hendrickson (Farmingdale, N.Y.) picking up assists. Wentworth took a 2-1 lead with 3:41 left in the period when freshman Ben Iwanowski (Dorval, Que.) scored his first collegiate marker on a long rush off passes from junior Joel Vastl (North Salem, N.H.) and Novella. Shots were even at nine apiece for the period.
Novella gave the Leopards some breathing room with his tally at 8:02 of the third, which was set up by classmate Sean McLaughlin (North Billerica, Mass.) and junior Shaun Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.). Nichols, which held a 10-8 shot advantage for the period had three chances to pull within one on a late power play, but freshman Alex Peck (Kirkland, Que.) kept it a two-goal game.
Peck made 25 saves, while Nichols senior Jacob Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) made 21 stops. The Bison outshot the Leopards, 26-24, on the night.
Wentworth improves to 13-6-1 overall and 6-2-1 in league play. The Leopards are at Johnson & Wales on Saturday night in a battle for sole possession of second place. Nichols sees its four-game win streak come to an end, falling to 7-8-1 (5-4-0). The Bison host Becker Saturday afternoon.
