WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (2/6/2026) – The Nichols College men's ice hockey team jumped out to an early lead in the opening period and never trailed, scoring in all three frames to secure the conference three points and a 5-2 victory over Western New England on Friday afternoon at the Olympia Ice Center.  

After tonight's game, the Bison move to 8-12-0 overall and 5-10-0 in Conference of New England play. The Golden Bears move to 5-16-0 (3-13-0 CNE) after the result. 

The Bison wasted little time getting on the board, as Justin Massa opened the scoring just 56 seconds into the game, finishing a feed from Brendan Schmidt and Jeremy Tremblay to make it 1-0. Nichols doubled the lead at 6:49, when CJ Zezima scored at even strength off an assist from Massa, sending the Bison into the first intermission with a 2-0 advantage. 

Western New England cut into the deficit at 5:00 of the second period on a goal by Matthew Dougherty, assisted by Michael Bottrell and Nick Theodos, making it 2-1. At 13:38, Zach Vandale finished a setup from Luca Ricci and Herman Asberg to restore the two-goal cushion. Just 1:50 later, Gavin Duckworth added another even-strength tally at 19:10, capitalizing on assists from Tristan Kimmen and Zac Gmerek. After trading goals in the period, the second period ended 4-1 heading into the third  

The Golden Bears pulled within two early in the third, as Everest Schneider scored at 5:09, assisted by Brayden Patricia and Matthew Dougherty, making it 4-2. Nichols answered with the decisive blow at 8:59, when Duckworth netted his second goal of the game at even strength, finishing a feed from Ricci and Aaron Hamel to seal the 5-2 victory.  

Freshman Ryan Henry started in net for the Bison, recording 36 saves for a .947 save percentage in the win. The Bison also led in faceoff wins, winning 30 of the 50 faceoffs on the night.  

The Bison return home tomorrow for the second leg of the home-and-home series against the Golden Bears. Puck drop is set for 3:40 PM at the Levy Rink.