HARTFORD, Conn. – Junior Alex Larson (Madison, Ala.) made a career-high 53 saves in Nichols College's 4-2 loss at Trinity (CT) College Saturday night in the First Round of the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship Saturday night at the Koeppel Community Sports Center.

Senior Sean Fleming (Easthampton, N.J.) scored twice late in the second as the Bison were outshot 57-36. They finish the season 21-4-3; the 21 wins are the second-highest in program history, trailing only the 25 won by the 2008-09 team.

With less than a minute remaining in the opening period, freshman Anthony Sabitsky (Sicklerville, N.J.) collected a pass from junior Elie Vered (Ottawa, Ontario) and fired a wrist shot that beat Larson to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. The marker was Sabitsky's 10th of the season and came on the power play as Trinity took a 1-0 edge into the first intermission.

The Bantams (22-3-1) put two more in through the first 13 and a half minutes of the second period to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Late in the stanza, the Bison came charging back as Fleming scored back-to-back goals just over two minutes apart. Fleming's first marker came off a turnover deep in the Trinity zone as he dove and knocked a backhand over a sprawling junior Nathaniel Heilbron (W.Vancouver, British Columbia). Junior Steve Lecey (Cedarurg, Wis.) and senior Chris Gularte (Salinas, Calif.) were credited with assists on the play.

His second tally pulled Nichols within one as he deflected the puck past Heilbron's glove with just over 30 seconds left. Nichols remained in the tilt thanks to the strong play of Larson as the 6-3 goaltender turned aside 24 shots in the second.

"Larson is a special goaltender," said Trinity fourth-year head coach Matt Greason. "He showed his true ability tonight with over 50 saves. Their defensive core does an excellent job of not allowing second-chance opportunities because they're so well coached and we had to fight for our chances."

Between the pipes, Larson stopped 53 shots and falls to 18-3-3 on the season, while Heilbron made 34 saves to earn his 17th win.

The Bison complete their season for the second-consecutive year in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bantams move on to play Plattsburgh State next Saturday in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Contributions from Trinity Sports Information