HARRISVILLE, R.I. – Junior T.J. Roche scored a pair of goals and senior Scott Cuthrell picked up a pair of assists as the Nichols College men's ice hockey team scored a 5-4 win over Johnson & Wales (RI) University Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Levy Rink.
 
Junior Matthew Menta and freshman Nate Foster each picked up a pair of apples as the Bison (13-6-2, 8-4-2 CCC) remained perfect at home on the season at 8-0-2. Freshman netminder Henry Burns needed to make 13 saves to earn his sixth win of the season. Junior Ryan Sete scored twice for the Wildcats while sophomore Connor Bechtel collected a pair of assists. The loss dropped the Wildcats to 5-16-0 on the season (3-11-0 CCC).
 
The Wildcats got on the board first with a goal at the 4:24 mark of the opening stanza. Junior Victor Carlsson sent a pass back to Sete, whose wrist shot from the point went through a screen and over the shoulder of Burns. Nichols evened the score at one on the power play at 10:43 of the first. Cuthrell sent a pass back to Menta at the point, and he played the puck down to sophomore Vincent Crivello at the right post for the backhand goal. The period closed with Nichols holding a 14-3 edge in shots.
 
In the second, Roche scored a pair of goals 18 seconds apart to give the Bison a 3-1 lead. His first goal at 4:13 was a wrister from the right point and his second came following a toe drag around a JWU student-athlete. Campbell's fourth of the season at 15:03 came off a feed from Menta, who was a puck battle along the right wing boards and found the junior d-man at the left post.
 
Johnson & Wales rallied for two goals just 1:09 apart early in the third to climb to within a goal at 4-3 before Spencer's eighth of the season gave NC a 5-3 lead at 7:10. Freshman Anthony Scarcella potted his second goal of the season for JWU at 9:03 to close the gap to one a 5-4.
 
Freshman Mike Rockwell made 27 saves to fall to 5-13-0 for the Wildcats.
 
All-Time Series
Tonight's contest marked the 33rd all-time meeting between Nichols College and Johnson & Wales (RI) University. The Bison have won four-straight and six of the last seven, and they now lead the series, 21-11-1.