MILTON, Mass. – Junior Matthew Menta scored the game-winning goal with 3:32 remaining in regulation to elevate the Nichols College men's ice hockey team to a 4-3 win over Curry College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Quarterfinal action Saturday afternoon at Max Ulin Rink.
 
Senior captain Scott Cuthrell handed out three assists to move past Dave Foley (1997-2001) and into a tie for 13th place on the program's all-time scoring list. Sophomores J.B Baker and Vincent Crivello also found the back of the net as the Bison (15-8-3) advance to the conference semifinals for the seventh consecutive season. They will face No. 1 seed Salve Regina next Saturday, February 24 at Portsmouth Abbey Ice Rink in Rhode Island.
 
Nichols fell behind 2-0 just 8:52 into the contest. Senior Adam Valadao chipped a rebound past NC senior netminder Colin Brennan at 7:48 before freshman Matthew Henderson scored on a shorthanded breakaway 1:04 later. The Bison cut their deficit in half on the power play when Baker one-timed a pass from junior Ian Spencer past freshman Cody Murch at 17:19 of the opening stanza.
 
The Bison tied the game in the second when Menta beat Murch with a wrist shot after skating down the right wing boards at 7:27. Crivello converted a breakaway into his 13th marker of the campaign to put NC in front at 16:31 of the second.
 
After the Colonels tied the game with 4:43 remaining in regulation when junior Zachary White batted a loose puck out of midair and past Brennan, Cuthrell flipped the puck off an offensive zone draw towards the net, where Menta was able to bang it past Murch for his seventh goal of the season.
 
Brennan finished the contest with 29 saves to improve to 9-6-3 on the season. Murch, meanwhile, stopped 20 shots. Nichols killed all five Colonels power-play chances.
 
All-Time Series
This afternoon's contest marked the 77th all-time meeting between the two schools, with the Colonels holding a 46-29-2 lead. The Bison, however, won the season series, 2-1-0.

Quotes
"We have a good leadership core. They quelled the storm and kept everyone even-keeled. We stayed the course and trusted the process, and were rewarded for it." –Nichols head coach Parker Burgess, on rallying from an early 2-0 deficit
 
"We talked about how there are things that we can't control in the playoffs. Good or bad, you have to play your next shift. The boys executed a set play off a face-off. That was the difference. We executed when the time came." –Burgess, on recovering to win after Curry tied the game late