MARLBORO, Mass. (Feb. 28) – Sophomore Nate Sayer scored 6:56 into overtime to give the fourth-seeded Becker College men’s ice hockey team a 5-4 victory over fifth-seeded Nichols College in an ECAC Northeast Hockey League quarterfinal round game Sunday afternoon at the New England Sports Center. With the victory, Becker improves to 12-12-1 on the year and earns a trip to second-seeded Curry for the semifinals on Wednesday, March 6th. Nichols concludes its season with a 13-10-3 record.
Nichols took the lead less than five minutes into the game, but the host Hawks carried a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. The teams traded goals in the second period, but Nichols scored a pair to take a 4-3 lead midway through the third. Hawks converted on the power play with less than four minutes left in regulation to force the extra session. They finished 4-for-7 with the man advantage on the day. Five of the total eight goals scored in the game were power-play tallies.
Nichols held a 4-3 shot advantage in the extra frame, and outchanced the home team with a pair of breaks by Eric Cremer (Chelsea, Mich.) and Will Munson (Corona, Calif.), but it was Sayer’s goal from Jeremy Narducci and Don Kane that sent Becker to the next round.
Cremer got Nichols on the board with the man advantage just 4:58 into the game on a rebound from Andrew Ella’s (Schomberg, Ont.) windup from the left circle. Nichols career assists leader Zeke Costello (Shelby Township, Mich.) earned the second assist with a breakout pass.
The Hawks scored twice on the power play to carry a one-goal lead into the break, first when Jared Kersner stretched across the netfront to poke a pass from Mike Caprio past Nichols netminder Jacob Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) at 11:39. Robert Johnson followed with his first of the game with 1:38 left in the frame as he banged the puck in front of the net after getting it from Patrick Bellew and Branden Parkhouse.
The teams traded goals late in the second period despite a 19-7 shot advantage by the Bison. Nichols’ Danny Greiner (Columbus, Ohio) knotted the score with the game’s first even-strength goal at 15:34. Kevin Richardson (Temecula, Calif.) and Matt Roberts (Merrimac, Mass.) earned the assists. Johnson answered back for the Hawks to give the home team the lead just over two minutes later, again scoring with the man advantage, this time on a solo setup from Parkhouse.
The Bison scored twice on long-range goals to take the lead in the third period. JoJo Bojanowski (Washington Township, Mich.) fired from the high circle, converting a pass from the sideboards by Greiner and Zach Kohn (Hartland, Wis.) at 5:54 to tie the game at 3-all. Matt Lynch (Pittsfield, Mass.), who returned to the lineup today after injury, rifled a shot from the left point that hit iron on its way in on the right side of the net at 11:30 to give Nichols its first lead since the first period. Greiner and Kohn again were the playmakers to earn assists.
Parkhouse tied the game up with less than five minutes left in regulation with a shot from the right circle that slipped past Rinn’s glove. With the Hawks on the power play, Bellew fed Parkhouse the puck and the freshman paused before wristing it past Rinn.
Nichols was whistled for a cross-checking penalty with 1:11 left in regulation, but the Bison held off the potent Becker power play all the way into the extra session. The Bison held a 39-30 shot advantage in the game.
Jake Rosenthal made 35 saves to earn the win, while Rinn made 25 saves in the loss.
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