EVERETT, Mass. – A pair of goals from junior Hogan Davidson (Duluth, Minn.) and 19 saves from freshman Brett Erp (Edmonton, Alta.) helped the Nichols College ice hockey team complete a weekend sweep of Wentworth Institute of Technology as the Bison defeated the Leopards, 4-0, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Saturday afternoon.
The Bison, ranked No. 13 in the latest D3Hockey.com Poll and receiving votes in the USCHO.com Division III Poll, improve to 2-0-0 (2-0 CCC) while the Leopards fall to 0-3-1 (0-2).
Nichols outshot Wentworth 13-3 in the opening frame with Leopard netminder Thomas Draper (Binghamton, N.Y.) turning aside 12 of those shots. The Bison scored the lone goal of the first period on their second shot of the game as freshman Justin Perron (Thetford Mines, Que.) scored off of passes from sophomore Filip Virgill (Malmo, Sweden) and junior Nicholas Mangone (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) at 2:23.
Wentworth had an 11-4 shot advantage in the second period, with four of those shots coming on a pair of power plays, however, Erp kept the hosts off the board. Nichols increased its lead to 2-0 when Davidson scored off the rebound of a saved shot from junior Vincent Crivello (Rosemere, Que.) at 15:31. Senior T.J. Roche (Northport, N.Y.) also picked up a helper on the goal.
The Bison pulled away in the third period, using a pair of goals in a span of 2:43 to double their lead. Davidson scored from freshman Petr Miko (Zlin, Czech Republic) at 1:20 while Miko and junior J.B. Baker (Columbia, Md.) assisted on a senior Matthew Menta (Lima, Pa.) goal at 4:03.
Erp notched his first collegiate win and his first collegiate shutout with his 19-save performance. Draper made 23 saves in the loss. Nichols had a 27-19 shot advantage.
Wentworth hosts Becker on Friday night.
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