All-Time Series & Streaks
Tonight's contest marked the 29th all-time meeting between Nichols and Johnson & Wales (RI). Despite the loss, the Bison have won five of the last seven and nine of 12 against the Wildcats to lead the series, 17-11-1. Tonight marked the first overtime contest between the schools since 2010.
 
Three Stars of the Game
1) Johnson & Wales (RI) freshman Jonathan Ruiz (Williamstown, N.J.) – scored the game-winning goal in OT; also collected two assists
2) Johnson & Wales (RI) junior Fran Mackin (Philadelphia, Pa.) – scored a pair of third-period goals less than six minutes apart
3) Nichols senior Frank Butler (East Haven, Conn.) – scored two goals for the Bison to give him a team-leading 14 on the season
 
Quick Synopsis
Ruiz scored the game-winning goal with 1:07 remaining in overtime to give the Wildcats a 5-4 win over the Bison in Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast action Saturday night at Lynch Arena. Butler potted two goals while freshman Ian Spencer (Hawthorne, N.J.) scored his first collegiate goal as the Bison, who needed a win of a tie to secure the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament for the third-consecutive season. They will instead be the No. 2 seed and host Becker next weekend.
 
Key Stat of the Game
Nichols held a 1-0 lead after two periods of play before the two schools combined to score seven in the third period.
 
Turning Point
After the Wildcats killed off a penalty in overtime, Ruiz skated down the right wing boards, carried the puck around the net, and wrapped it inside the left post for the game-winner at 3:53.
 
Quick Hits
-Nichols seniors Tyler Beasley (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Daniel Bufis (Linden, N.J.) each dished out two assists for the Bison. Beasley now has 79 career apples, tying him with Dave Delmonico (1974-78) for fourth-place on the all-time list. His 126 career points, meanwhile, is one Will Munson (2007-11) for fifth-place in program history.
-Senior Alex Larson (Madison, Ala.) made 31 saves and slipped to 14-8-0 with the loss. His counterpart, junior Joey Ballmer (Kalamazoo, Mich.) kicked out 21 shots to improve to 11-10-3.
-Each school went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
-Tonight's game marked the fourth time this season the Bison have allowed five or more goals. Last year, they only allowed five-or-more goals on two occasions.
 
Quotes
"This isn't quite how we drew it up with these two goalies. We had some mental breakdowns tonight. We worked on it in practice all week – coverage in the defensive zone and things like that. We had some breakdowns and they were opportunistic. It's a tough one at this point, that's for sure." – Nichols head coach Parker Burgess
 
"We've had a lot of adversity this year. When it hits, you can either let it define you or you can define it. We can use it as motivation going into the playoffs. It hasn't been as easy as in years past I'm sure, but that's when you have to work hard and come together as a group. I have no doubt we'll do that on Monday." – Burgess, on his team heading into the playoffs
 
Next up
Nichols (16-9-0, 11-5-0 ECAC Northeast) – Saturday, February 27 vs Becker, 4:40 p.m.
Johnson & Wales (RI) (11-10-4, 7-6-3 ECAC Northeast) – Saturday, February 27 @ Salve Regina, 3:10 p.m.