Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. - Senior Grace Murphy (Montclair, Va.) potted two goals as the Nichols College women's ice hockey team defeated SUNY Canton 5-2 in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon at Levy Rink.

The first time the Bison and the Kangaroos have ever met on the ice saw senior Alyssa Bufis (Linden, N.J.) tally three points and senior Lisa Coskren (Norwood, Mass) two.

Senior Taylor Brown (Winthrop, Mass.) netted the first goal of the game at 12:07 of the first period after sending a pass down to Bufis in the slot and then receiving a pass between the circles and beating freshman goaltender Rebecca DiNardo (Ottawa, Ontario) glove side. The goal marked the first power play goal of the year for the Bison.

Nichols (4-5-0) added another in the first period at 17:49. Senior Samantha Vicari (Wayne, N.J.) skated behind the net and passed it in front of the goal to Coskren who was able to spin around and beat the keeper.

SUNY Canton (1-6-0) cut the lead in half early in the second period when junior Robyn Carroll (Bromanville, Ontario) got the best of freshman goaltender Lindsay O'Connell (Danvers, Mass.). Junior Steph Kushnir (Goshen, N.Y.) and freshman Margaret Troiano (Morristown, N.Y.) were credited with assists on the play.

The Bison answered back two minutes later when Coskren found Murphy in front of the net who then beat the keeper through the five-hole.

Bufis scored her goal at 11:04 in the second period after breaking free down the right halfway down the ice and beating the keeper glove side to give the Bison their biggest lead of the season, 4-1.

Murphy capped off the scoring for the Bison scoring just 42 seconds into the third period. Bufis and junior Julia Mastrototaro (Holden, Mass.) picked up the assists on the goal.

The Kangaroos added another at 12:52 in the third period when freshman Alicia Eamon (Williamstown, Ontario) found sophomore Lora Ardoin (Houston, Texas) who netted her second goal of the season.

The Bison poured in a season-high 45 shots while holding the Kangaroos to just 18. Murphy provided a game-high 13 shots while the Kangaroos were paced by Carroll with four.

O'Connell earned her first career collegiate victory stopping 16 shots and moves to 1-1-0 on the year. DiNardo falls to 1-4-0 this season after making 40 saves.

"I thought we had a good jump to start the game," said Nichols head coach Wil Brown. "We kept the pop going in the second period and finished it off in the third."

The Bison travel to take on Stevenson for a two-game set starting on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Kangaroos host the University of New England on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.