Franklin Pierce Falls To Nichols, 9-5
The Bison score five times in the opening period in cruising to the victory
|
Jeff Kasper contributed two
goals and an assist on Saturday at Nichols. |
POMFRET, Conn. (January 26,
2008) – Nichols College scored five times in the
first period in earning a 9-5 victory over Franklin Pierce
University in ECAC Northeast Conference men’s ice hockey
action on Saturday night at Jahn Rink.
Junior Anthony Monte (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Force) led the way for
Nichols with two goals and two assists, tying for the game-high in
points with teammate Ryan Gervais (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Force),
who had four assists. Freshman JoJo Bojanowski (Washington
Township, Mich./Markham Waxers) added two goals for the Bison,
while classmate John Haley (Shelburne, Vt./Green Mountain Glades)
tallied three assists.
Junior Jeff Kasper (South Boston, Mass./Catholic
Memorial) paced the Ravens with two goals and an assist
for three points, his fifth career multi-goal game. Junior
Jay Stempniak (West Seneca, N.Y./Johnson &
Wales), sophomore Phil LaBreck (Thornton,
N.H./Laconia Leafs) and freshman Sean Woodring
(Rogue River, Ore./Eugene Generals) also scored one goal
apiece for Franklin Pierce, while senior captain Joe Fields
(Towamencin, Pa./Green Mountain Glades) added a pair of
assists.
Nichols came out very strong to begin play, outshooting Franklin
Pierce in the first period by a 19-3 margin and scoring five goals
to the Ravens’ one. Bojanowski began the scoring only 1:39
into the period, and the team increased its lead to three after
Billy Sabia (Ridgefield, Conn./Trinity Pawling) and Cole Ruwe
(Pekin, Ill./Peoria Mustangs) scored a mere 26 seconds apart midway
through the frame.
LaBreck got the Ravens on the board at the 16:07 mark, with
assists credited to sophomores Rob Perretta (Staten Island,
N.Y./Brockville Tiki's) and Casey Goodell
(Rochester, N.H./Laconia Leafs), but the Bison scored
twice more on freshman netminder Jeremy Rossignolo
(Rochester, N.Y./Springfield Pics) before the period
ended.
|
Joe Fields chalked up two
assists at Nichols on Saturday. |
Nichols continued to apply heavy
pressure in the second period, peppering freshman goalie Matt
McCarthy (Natick, Mass./New Hampton School) with 20 shots, 17 of
which McCarthy turned away in his 20 minutes of play. Kasper and
Stempniak each scored within the first 9:26 of the period, but
Monte notched his second of the game, the eventual game-winner, in
between the two at the 5:01 mark.
The Ravens continued to fight in the third period, taking 14 shots
while holding Nichols to only six and scoring twice on the power
play. Kasper netted his second of the evening while on a 6-on-4
advantage at 12:37, with the assist going to senior captain Pete
Wilson (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), and Woodring also found the
net on the man advantage off the sticks of Fields and Kasper to
round out the scoring with 2:28 remaining in the contest.
Sophomore netminder Jon Tuttle (Concord,
N.H./Concord) made his first collegiate appearance in net
for the Ravens in the third period, stopping five of six shot
attempts in 20 minutes of action. Nichols’ Keith Fink
(Easton, Md./Collingwood Blues) earned the win despite stopping
only six of nine shots in 29:26 of play before ceding the net to
Donny Wynia (Minneapolis, Minn./Wisconsin Mustangs), who gave up
two goals on 15 shots.
Franklin Pierce (4-14-0,0-3-0 NE-10,2-8-0 ECAC NE) returns to the
Winchendon School Ice Arena on Wednesday night, when the team hosts
Worcester State College in an ECAC Northeast matchup beginning at 7
p.m. Nichols (12-3-1, 6-1-0 ECAC NE) hosts Wentworth Institute of
Technology tomorrow night at 8 p.m.