HARRISVILLE, R.I. (Jan. 30) – A pair of goals just 21 seconds apart in the final three minutes of the game lifted the Nichols College men’s ice hockey team to a 7-6 victory over Salve Regina Saturday afternoon in an ECAC Northeast game at June Rockwell Levy Rink. Nichols improves to 11-6-2 overall and 5-3-0 in conference play after its fifth-straight win, while the Seahawks drop to 1-18-0 and 0-8-0 in conference action. Matt Sayer (Lowell, Mass.) had two goals and an assist for the Bison, while Zach Kohn (Hartland, Wis.) added a goal and three assists. Kohn knotted the game at 17:39 of the third on the power play, and Sayer knocked home the game-winner at 18:01. Bryan Russell led the Seahawks with two goals and an assist, while Ryan Petersen pitched in with four assists.
Nichols held a 1-0 lead after one period on Sayer’s eighth goal of the season. Josh Moles (Fort Wayne, Ind.) tipped a shot by Bryan Gill (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) that bounced to Sayer’s stick and the junior roofed it at 6:29 on the power play.
The teams combined for eight goals in the middle frame, and left the Bison on top, 5-4, after Andrew Letellier (Saco, Maine) netted his fifth goal with just 11 seconds left. Salve started the frame with three-straight goals, only to be answered back by three-straight from the Bison after Ryan Casey (Pelham, N.H.) took over in net. Joe Colaianni tied it up at 18:21 of the stanza. After picking up a pass from Nathaniel Burns, he fired a shot that deflected off a defender and high past Casey’s right shoulder.
Letellier gave the Bison the advantage headed into the locker room by converting a pass from Kohn in the slot. Kevin Sullivan ripped a slapshot below Casey’s glove from the right point less than two minutes into the third period on the man advantage to bring the score even at 5-5, and the Seahawks took the lead at the 8:47 mark on a two-man advantage when Sullivan wound up for a slapshot from the right point that deflected off a defender and into the top left corner of the net.
Salve kept control for the bulk of the third period, and maintained a 15-9 shot advantage, but it was late in the frame when the Bison connected.
Kohn collected a rebound from a shot by Danny Greiner (Columbus, Ohio) and roofed it while on the power play to even the game, and on the next shift, Eric Cremer’s (Chelsea, Mich.) shot slipped through the legs of Salve Regina’s goaltender Ryan Comerford and was slowly dribbling across the crease for Sayer to poke in for the game-winner. Jacob Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) made 10 saves in the opening 30 minutes, while Casey earned the win with 15 over the remainder of the game. Comerford took the loss with 37 saves.
Nichols is back in action at Becker on Wednesday, February 3 in an 8:30 p.m. game. Salve Regina hosts Suffolk Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.
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