Box Score HARRISVILLE, R.I. – The top-seeded Nichols College men's hockey team advanced to the ECAC Northeast semifinals with an 8-1 victory over eighth-seededWestfield State Saturday evening at June Rockwell Levy Rink. The Bison finished the night 6-for-14 on the power play and were led by four points from sophomore forward Matt Roberts (Merrimac, Mass.), who recorded a pair of goals and two assists.
Nichols (23-3-0), currently ranked 14th in the nation, will host fifth-seeded Fitchburg State in the semifinals Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. Fitchburg upset fourth-seeded UMass-Dartmouth in the quarterfinals.
Matt Hendrickson (Farmingdale, N.Y.) added three points with a goal and two assists, while Will Munson (Corona, Calif.) recorded a pair of goals.
Dennis Zak gave the Owls (11-9-4) a 1-0 lead just 4:11 in the game, one-timing a pass from Pat Nelson on a two-on-one. Zak set up the situation by getting past a defender as the pair entered the zone and found Nelson in the right circle before getting the puck back for his 20th goal of the season.
The Bison rattled off eight unanswered goals to cruise into the semifinals, starting with two in the first period. Hendrickson knotted the game at 8:18 with Nichols' only even-strength tally of the night, knocking in a rebound off a shot from Andrew Ella (Schomberg, Ontario). Roberts converted a short-handed breakaway tally after Kevin Richardson (Temecula, Calif.) picked off an Owls' pass to send the Bison to the locker room with a 2-1 lead.
Nichols scored four power-play goals in the second frame to edge ahead, 5-1, and tacked on two more goals with the man advantage in the final frame for the 8-1 final.
Eric Cremer (Chelsea, Mich.) passed across the point to JoJo Bojanowski (Washington Township, Mich.) before Bojanowski threaded the puck through the slot to Munson for the first power-play tally at 7:40 of the second period.
Anthony Monte (Chicago, Ill.) beat Westfield netminder Ray Monroe glove side to put the Bison up, 4-1, at 10:55, collecting a pass in the left circle from Zeke Costello (Shelby Township, Mich.) after Jeff Bieber (Littleton, Colo.) fed the puck down from the point.
Ryan Gervais (Chicago, Ill.) wound up for a slap shot above the right circle at 13:44 while on a two-man advantage after receiving a pass across the point from Bieber. Cremer earned the second assist with a set-up pass from the low slot.
Roberts capped the second period's scoring with his second goal of the night on a quick transition with the assist from Ella, allowing the Bison to carry a 6-1 lead into the second intermission.
Roberts returned the favor just 21 seconds into the final frame, setting up an Ella goal with a pass to Hendrickson in the corner. Hendrickson then flicked the puck to Ella at the netfront where the rookie slipped it past replacement Westfield netminder Ian Wilson.
Munson capped the night's scoring midway through the third period as he collected a loose puck in a scrum at the crease after Ruwe shipped it on net, and roofed it at 10:57 for the Bison's eighth goal.
In all, Nichols held a 49-22 advantage in shots, and was assessed 20 penalty minutes on 10 infractions. The Owls found themselves in the penalty box for 58 minutes on 21 infractions.
Nichols netminder Jacob Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) improved to 7-1-2 on the season with 21 saves. Westfield's Monroe shouldered the loss with 13 saves and four goals allowed in the first 31 minutes, while Wilson stopped 27 shots while allowing four goals in the final 29 minutes
Box Score
