MILTON, Mass.- The #2 seed Curry College defeated the #3 seed Nichols College 7-2, in the ECAC Northeast Semi-Final game, in men's ice hockey action on Wednesday night in Milton, Mass. With the win, the Colonels improve to 14-10-2 overall, the Bison fall to12-13-2 overall.
The Colonels took the early lead just 4:08 into the first period on their first of four power-play goals of the game. Senior Mike Kavanagh (Little Neck, N.Y.) took advantage of the man-up situation off assists from Joshua Pineiro (Huntington, Calif.) and Payden Benning (Estevan, SK). Midway through the frame, the Colonels took a 2-0 lead when senior John Williams (Flourtown, Pa.) took a slap shot past Nichols senior netminder Jacob Rinn (Warwick, R.I.). Williams was assisted by sophomore Alexander Barr (West Milford, N.J.) and senior Ian DeLong (Kutztown, Pa.). Just under two minutes later DeLong scored the Colonels second power-play goal. Benning was credited with his second assist. Freshman goaltender Derek Mohney (Amherst, N.Y) played solid in net keeping the Bison scoreless. Curry outshot Nichols 14-10.
Curry scored the first goal to start the second period. Benning earned his first goal of the night and third point of the game. DeLong also earned his third point when he assisted on the goal. Senior Ryan Barlock (Chicago, Ill.) had the secondary assist. Nichols finally got on the board with their own power-play goal at the 14:35 mark. Freshman Louie Educate (Chicago, Ill.) received a pass from senior Andrew Ella (Schomberg, Ont.). Senior Andrew Letellier (Saco, Maine) was credited with the second assist. The Colonels answered back before the end of the period to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Sophomore Brad Devereaux (Duxbury, Mass.) scored off an assist by junior Brett Kaneshiro (Laguna Niguel, Calif.). Shots in the frame were even with both teams having 16.
Three power-play goals were scored in the final period, for a total of six on the night. The Colonels had two of their own and Nichols one. Curry scored back-to-back goals, their first at 8:06 into the frame and the second at 12:54. Benning scored his second goal of the game and fourth total point. Kaneshiro and Barlock were on the assists. Curry’s last score was from junior Connor Hendry (Calgary, Alberta). Kavanagh was credited with the assist. The Bison scored the last goal of the game with just under three minutes to play. Senior Zach Hendrickson (Farmingdale, N.Y.) collected a rebound in front of the net and shot it past Mohney.
Curry finished with a total of 47 shots while Nichols finished with 26. The Colonels went 4-11 on power-plays and the Bison 2-6.
The Bison’s Rinn made 40 saves in net for the loss. Curry’s Mohney made 24 saves for the win.
Curry's next game is away at Wentworth on Saturday, March 3, in the ECAC Northeast Championship.
Box Score
