Game Photos
NEW BEDFORD, MA- In an extremely hard fought game that easily could have gone either way, UMass-Dartmouth's Joe Hill (Newburyport, MA) broke a 3-3 deadlock with just 16.9 seconds left to play, ending a record-breaking season for the Nichols men's hockey team in the ECAC Championship game on Saturday. The Cosairs added an empty net goal with five seconds remaining for a 5-3 final. The Bison set a new school record with 20 wins this season and made their first-ever trip to the ECAC Finals.
Nichols was forced to play defense for much of the first period as UMass-Dartmouth had three power play chances. Led by junior captain Cole Ruwe (Pekin, IL), the Bison successfully killed off all three power plays, including 54 seconds of a five on three. Behind its home crowd, the Cosairs were able to get on the board first as freshman Joe Hill (Newburyport, MA) tucked in a rebound left by goalie Keith Fink (Easton, MD). Senior Paul Garabedian (Belmont, MA) took the initial shot to earn the assist on the play.
Nichols came out on the attack in the second, quickly tying things up with a power play goal 1:54 into the period. Junior Anthony Monte (Chicago, IL) scored the goal, his 21st of the season, with just seven seconds left on the power play. Freshman Will Munson (Corona, CA) and junior Jeff Bieber (Littleton, CO) were credited with the assists.
UMass-Dartmouth retook a one goal lead just under four minutes later when sophomore Paul Moran (Rockville Centre, NY) delivered a centering pass to freshman Bill Manning (Stoughton, MA), who buried it in over Fink's right shoulder.
Just as quickly as the Cosairs responded, Nichols answered right back at the 9:20 mark. Monte used his speed to rush up the wing and stick-handled the puck past the UMD defense and dumped it in past goalie Jeff Green (Medway, MA). Bieber earned an assist on the play, his second of the game. Heading into the third with the game tied 2-2, UMass-Dartmouth had a 21-16 edge on shots.
The Cosairs scored their first power play goal 4:17 into the final period to grab a 3-2 lead. Junior Chris Shore (West Haven, CT) scored the goal while junior Nick Paquin (Warwick, RI) and sophomore Matt Serino (Saugus, MA) picked up the assists.
For the third time Nichols scored the equalizer as Munson tipped in a shot from the left wing by freshman Patrick Biron (Atlanta, GA) with 13:04 left in regulation. Freshman JoJo Bojanowski (Washington Township, MI) nearly netted the go-ahead goal for Nichols as his shot hit the pipe and Green never saw it coming soon after Munson's goal.
With 4:03 left in the game, Biron was called for a holding penalty but Nichols ended up getting not one but two breakaway chances during the two minutes. Green made two great saves on both plays, the first by Munson, the last by Monte.
With the game seemingly heading to overtime, Hill netted his second goal of the game to secure UMD's third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The loss should not take away from an incredible season for the Bison. In just four short years Head Coach Lou Izzi has brought the hockey program from the bottom of the ECAC Northeast to the top after the College suffered through 26 straight losing seasons prior to the 2005-06 season. The team ends the year with a 20-7-1 record, the best overall record in the ECAC Northeast.
