HARRISVILLE, R.I. – Four different players tallied goals, including juniors Paul Prescott (Oakdale, Minn.) and Paul Lecey (Cedarburg, Wis.) who also had an assist as the Nichols College ice hockey team skated past Wentworth, 4-1, in ECAC Northeast action.
Winners of five in a row the Bison improve to 16-3-2 overall and maintain their lead in the league with an 8-1-1 record. The Leopards dropped the second straight to stand at 9-10-2 (4-5-1).
Despite holding a 14-10 shot advantage through the opening 20 minutes, Wentworth found itself down 1-0. Junior Tyler Beasley (Indianapolis, Ind.) fed Lecey who fired a wrist shot to the top right corner at 13:07
Just six seconds into a Nichols power play the Bison pushed their lead to 2-0 when Prescott scored from seniors Kyle Shapiro (Ambler, Pa.) and Brett Jackson (Larchmont, N.Y.) at 1:15 of the middle stanza. The Bison had a chance to go ahead 3-0 at the 5:37 mark when a Leopard penalty resulted in a penalty shot. However, junior Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) kept it a 2-0 game when he stopped senior Joe Sposit's (Cleveland, Ohio) bid.
With one second left in the period, the Bison took a 3-0 lead as Prescott fed Lecey, whose initial shot was saved but he picked up the rebound and put it home.
Wentworth got on the board at 3:21 of the third when junior Adam Frank (Clarkston, Mich.) put home the puck in front after taking a pass from freshman Ryan Sullivan (Whately, Mass.). The Leopards pulled Miller for an extra attacker with 1:30 left, however Nichols junior netminder Alex Larson (Madison, Ala.) cleared the puck, which would go over a defenseman's stick and roll down the ice for the empty-net marker.
Larson made 36 stops on the night while Miller turned aside 29. Wentworth held a 37-33 shot advantage in the game.
Both teams have league contests on Saturday as Wentworth hosts Becker and Nichols hosts Salve Regina.