Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore Alex Lewis' (Toronto, Ontario) first collegiate goal proved to be the game-winning tally as the Nichols College men's ice hockey team bested Western New England, 4-1, in a key ECAC Northeast tilt on Saturday night at Smead Arena. The Bison (12-7-0, 5-3-0 ECACNE) end the week tied for second place in the league standings with Curry while the Golden Bears dip to 7-12-0 (4-4-0 ECACNE).
 
Lewis snapped a 1-all tie at the 14:24 mark of the second period with a shorthanded goal with help from sophomore Mike Schwartz (Long Beach, N.Y.). Earlier in the frame, Western New England lit the lamp as sophomore Andrew Cramer (New Wilmington, Pa.) and junior John Kelly (Staten Island, N.Y.) setup freshman Chris Lembo (Southington, Conn.) at 2:04. Sophomore Kyle Shapiro (Ambler, Pa.) knotted the game at 1-1 4:09 later as senior Wil Brown (Hershey, Pa.) and first-year Tyler Beasley (Indianapolis, Ind.) were each credited with a helper.
 
Following the second intermission, Beasley capitalized on a 5-on-3 situation to notch his 10th goal of the season 39 seconds into the final stanza. Sophomore Joe Sposit (Cleveland, Ohio) and first-year Paul Prescott (Oakdale, Minn.) helped create the marker. Rookie Frank Butler (East Haven, Conn.) then setup sophomore Chris Gularte (Salinas, Calif.) at 1:45 as the duo took advantage of another Bison extra man opportunity.
 
Nichols first-year netminder Alex Larson (Madison, Ala.) collected a game-high 36 saves and improved to 6-5-0 while sophomore Tim Carr (Pine Bush, N.Y.) evened out at 5-5-0 as he made 29 stops.
 
The Golden Bears held a slim 37-33 lead in shots for the game. Nichols went 3-for-9 on the power play and Western New England finished 1-for-5.
 
The Bison host league-leading Wentworth on Wednesday night at 8:10 p.m. The Golden Bears entertain Becker on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.