EVERETT, Mass. – Sophomore Curtis Carlson's (Lakewood, N.Y.) goal with 1:17 remaining in regulation knotted the score at 4-all as Nichols and Wentworth skated to a 4-all tied in Commonwealth Coast Conference play Saturday afternoon.
For NCAA purposes, the game counts as a tie, however, for CCC standing purposes, the Bison pick up an extra point after sophomore Justin Perron (Thetford Mines, Que.) put home a shootout goal after the two teams played five minutes of scoreless, three-on-three hockey.
THE BASICS:
RECORDS: WIT (6-11-2, 2-8-2 CCC); NC (7-11-1, 4-7-1 CCC)
SHOTS: WIT 36; NC 23
PENALTIES/MINUTES: WIT 5-10; NC 4-16
POWER PLAYS: WIT 1-3; NC 2-5
GOALIE SAVES: WIT – Thomas Draper, 19; NC – Brett Epp, 32
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- On Nichols' second power play of the first period, the Bison took a 1-0 lead as Perron scored at the 10:25 mark. With 55 seconds left in the frame, senior Connor Beaudet (Buffalo, N.Y.) put home the rebound of a classmate Georgy Gorodetsky (Yekaterinburg, Russia) saved shot on the power play to even the score. Junior Brenden Lloyd (Merrick, N.Y.) also tallied an assist on the play. First period shots were in favor of Nichols by a 13-7 margin with seven of those shots coming on three power play attempts.
- The lone goal of the second period came at the 10:25 mark when senior Adam Tracey (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) scored from sophomore Jake McKenelley (Middleton, Mass.) and senior Nate Chase (Plainfield, Ill.) to put the hosts ahead, 2-1. Wentworth controlled play for the majority of the second period and had a 12-3 shot advantage.
- Senior Nicholas Mangone (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) tied, and gave his team a lead with a pair of goals 6:19 apart in the third period. He wasted little time depositing a shot into the upper left corner at the 25 second mark of the third period to even the score at 2-all before giving the Bison a 3-2 lead with a shorthanded goal at 6:44.
- Wentworth used a power-play goal from senior Connor Busch (Lake in the Hills, N.Y.) at the 10:51 mark to tie the game at 3-all. Freshman Guillaume Bose (San Jose, Calif.) and Gorodetsky picked up assists on the marker. Wentworth reclaimed the lead at 17:31 on a goal from Tracey, which was set up by sophomore Joey O'Leary (Boston, Mass.). For Tracey, it was his third goal and fourth point in the last two contests.
- At the 18:00 mark, the Leopards were called for a penalty. With the puck in the Leopard zone, sophomore Brett Epp (Edmonton, Alta.) was pulled to make it a 6-on-4 situation. The move paid off as sophomore Carlson tied the game with 1:17 left.
- Overtime saw Wentworth control play, outshooting Nichols by a 3-0 margin, however, the Leopards were unable to score and both teams earned a point for the tie.
- Playing a second overtime period to determine who would receive an extra point, the Bison had a 9-2 shot advantage with sophomore Thomas Draper (Binghamton, N.Y.) helping force the game into a shootout. Perron converted his shootout attempt, while Epp came up with a save on Chase to give Nichols the extra point.
SERIES NOTES:
- Today marked the 46th all-time meeting between the two programs with Nichols holding a 25-18-3 advantage. The Bison are 14-1-3 in the last 18 meetings.
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