Late Nichols Goal Foils Hockey

HARRISVILLE, R.I. – Freshman Nathan Carl (Sherwood Park, Ariz.) scored with just 28 seconds remaining in regulation, snapping a 1-all tie and lifting the Nichols College ice hockey team to a 2-1 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in Commonwealth Coast Conference play.

With the win the Bison improve to 6-11-1 overall and 4-11-0 (16 points) in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 4-14-2 (3-12-1, 12 points CCC). Eight of Wentworth's losses have come by a combined 12 goals, including dropping four one-goal games.

THE BASICS:

RECORDS:  WIT:  4-14-2 (3-12-1 CCC); NC:  6-11-1 (5-11-0 CCC);
SHOTS:  WIT:  32; NC:  32
PENALTIES/MINUTES:  WIT:  4/8; NC:  3/17
POWER PLAYS:  WIT:  0-2; NC:  0-4
GOALIE SAVES:  WIT:  Will Oliver, 30; NC:  Korbinian Lutz, 31

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth killed of an early penalty, holding Nichols to three shots, with just one going on net. At the 12:45 mark, however, senior Curtis Carlson (Lakewood, N.Y.) put the Bison on the board when he tapped home a rebound of a classmate Petr Miko (Zlin, Czech Republic) shot which was initially saved by sophomore Will Oliver (Chesterfield, Mo.). Nichols had an 11-8 shot advantage in the opening frame.
• The Leopards had 4:55 of extra-man time early in the second period, thanks to a major penalty called on Nichols with two seconds left in the first period. Wentworth peppered Lutz with six shots during this time, however, he came up with six saves. The Black & Gold finally got past Lutz with 1:26 left in the frame when senior Joey O'Leary (Boston, Mass.) put home a rebound of a senior Jake McKenelley (Middleton, Mass.) shot which was saved by Lutz. Wentworth had a 13-5 shot advantage in the period.
• Both teams had chances to score throughout the third period with both goalies coming up big. At the 17:15 mark, Wentworth was called for a penalty, putting the Bison on the power play for the fourth time. Nichols had 10 shots during the power play, with four going on net and four blocked by the Leopards. Freshman Brendan Saether (Abbotsford, B.C.) had two of those blocks.
• Having just been released from the penalty box, junior Sam Milnes went in on Lutz and put a shot on goal, however, his go-ahead bid was denied. At the other end, Carl scored at 19:32 off a feed from junior Austan Bellefeuille (Framingham, Mass.) to put the hosts ahead. Oliver was subsequently pulled for an extra attacker, however, Wentworth was unable to create a scoring chance.
• Lutz made 31 saves for Nichols, while Oliver made 30 saves for Wentworth. Shots were even at 32-all.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the 49th all-time meeting between the two teams. Nichols holds a 27-19-3 advantage.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts Western New England Friday, Tuesday, February 8, at 6:00 p.m.

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