Nichols College Athletics

HARRISVILLE, R.I. (Jan. 20) – Senior Zeke Costello (Shelby Township, Mich.) scored his first two goals of the season amid a four-point night to lead the Nichols College men’s ice hockey team to a 7-2 ECAC Northeast Hockey League victory over visiting Johnson & Wales University Wednesday evening at June Rockwell Levy Rink. Costello, who entered the night with 96 career points, joined the Bison’s 100-point club with his record 81^st career assist in the second period.

Also tallying four-point nights for the Bison (8-6-2, 2-3-0 ECAC) were junior Matt Roberts (Merrimac, Mass.) and rookie Zach Kohn (Hartland, Wis.), who each scored two goals and added two assists.

Craig Houle struck on the power play to give the Wildcats (5-11-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) the lead midway through the first period. Tony Galante held the puck at the left point before finding Houle in the near corner. Houle fought to keep the puck, beat a defender and wrapped the puck around for the 1-0 lead at 8:24.

Roberts sparked the Bison with a short-handed goal at 15:40 of the first, and Costello gave Nichols the lead just over two minutes later with his first goal of the season. Roberts was all alone deep in the JWU zone and picked off a breakout pass just in front of the Wildcats’ net. He paused and fired for his first goal of the year. Matt Sayer (Lowell, Mass.) converted a Kohn pass to Costello in the right circle for the senior to send in a hard wrister from a low angle that beat JWU goaltender Jake Menzel for the one-goal lead.

Nichols exploded for three goals in the third period to extend its lead to 5-1 in the second period before the Wildcats could pot another tally. Kohn converted a pass from Roberts less than two minutes into the frame to start off the scoring. Matt Lynch (Pittsfield, Mass.) got the next play rolling by winning a battle along the right sideboards and dropping the pass back for Kohn, who moved off the wall and into the slot where he found Costello for a low wrist shot that beat replacement goaltender JR Woodland low on his blocker side at 8:05.

Costello returned the favor to Roberts at 9:58 with an outlet pass to set up the junior for his second tally of the game. Roberts collected the puck and hustled past a defender before shooting an impossible shot while diving through the air that beat Woodland, glove side.

With under four minutes left in the middle frame, the Wildcats brought the margin to three while on the power play as Max Carter roofed in a rebound that was tipped across the slot to him by Houle.

Kohn deflected in a slapshot from the point by Lynch in the third period after Costello slipped the puck out from the circle. Lynch wound up with Kohn screening on Woodland’s left, and Kohn got his stick on it to redirect it into the lower right corner of the net.

Zach Hendrickson (Farmingdale, N.Y.) got in on the scoring with 1:33 left in the game with his fifth goal of the season. Roberts found Andrew Ella (Schomberg, Ont.) with a breakout pass on the right. Ella quickly sent it ahead to the slot where Hendrickson took his time before wristing a shot through Woodland’s five-hole.