BIDDEFORD, Maine (2/21/2026) – The Nichols College men's ice hockey team rallied late to No. 6 University of New England, but ultimately fell in a 3-2 loss Saturday night at the Harold Alford Forum in Conference of New England play.
After today's result, Nichols ends the regular season at 10-14-1 (7-11-1 CNE), ending the season in fifth place in the CNE and securing a playoff berth for the third straight year. UNE ends their regular season at 20-5-0 (17-3-0 CNE), earning the first seed in the CNE tournament.
Nichols and UNE skated through a tightly contested opening period before the Nor'easters struck late. Dominic Murphy netted the game's first goal at 18:10 in the first, finishing a feed from Nathan Chickering and Seth Murch to give UNE a 1-0 edge heading into the first intermission. Ryan Henry started in net and made 11 saves in the first period for the Bison.
Both teams battled through a scoreless second period, trading chances and relying on timely stops from each goaltender. Nichols subbed in junior Nick Anderson to start the second period in net, posting 11 saves and keeping the Nor'easters out. Nichols generated pressure, outshooting UNE 13 to 11, but couldn't find an equalizer. The Bison went into the final period of play down 1-0.
UNE extended its lead early in the third. Ryan Hadland doubled the advantage at 7:25, scoring at even strength off an assist from Nick Marino to make it 2-0. The Bison responded midway through the final frame. Zach Vandale cut the deficit in half at 11:52 with his fifth goal of the season, finishing a setup from Rocco Bianculli and Aidan Flynn. Nichols continued to press and pulled Nick Anderson with 1:37 left to bring on the extra skater in search of an equalizer. The move paid off at 18:43 when CJ Zezima buried a second-chance opportunity for the tying goal with the extra attacker on the ice. Dylan Ray and Gavin Duckworth were credited with assists on Zezima's ninth goal of the season, knotting the score at 2-2 and swinging momentum toward the Bison. However, UNE answered just 31 seconds later. Drew Olivieri scored the game-winner at 19:14 off assists from Kevin O'Keefe and Chickering to seal the 3-2 victory for the Nor'easters. Nichols pulled Anderson again at 19:19 after winning the faceoff on the restart for the skater advantage, but they were unable to capitalize on it again.
Ryan Henry started in net for Nichols and made 11 saves in the first period, while Nick Anderson stopped 25 shots over the final two periods in relief. Along with Zezima's goal, he also led the Bison in faceoff win percentage (.500) and blocked shots (2).
The men's ice hockey program enters the Conference of New England Tournament as the fifth seed and will start their tournament at the Canton Ice House, where they will travel on Wednesday, February 25th, to face fourth seed Curry College for the quarterfinals. Puck drop is set for 6 PM.
