HARRISVILLE, R.I. – The Curry College men's ice hockey team picked up a home-and-home sweep with an 8-1 victory over Nichols College on Saturday evening at the Levy Rink in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play. The eight goals mark a season-high in that category. With the win, the Colonels now sit at 7-1-0 overall and 5-1-0 in the CCC while the Bison fall to 0-8-0 overall with a 0-7-0 mark in league play. The win also marked the 100th career victory for Head Coach TJ Manastersky.
Curry struck first as they found the back just 20 seconds into the contest on an unassisted marker by junior Viktor Jansson (Stockholm, Sweden). The Colonels then tallied two goals in the final five minutes of the opening period. Sophomore Nick Magill-Diaz (Troy, Mich.) netted a power-play goal off helpers from senior assistant captain Billy Vizzo (Shelton, Conn.) and sophomore Mic Curran (Arlington, Mass.) at 15:41. Junior Matthew Henderson (Scarborough, Maine) put a shot past Nichols' sophomore goaltender Brett Epp (Edmonton, Alberta) with 58 seconds left in the frame to send Curry into the first intermission with a 3-0 lead. The Colonels held a 10-5 advantage in shots in the stanza.
Curry outscored Nichols 4-0 in the second period to extend the score to 7-0. Sophomore Alex Ochterbeck (Dallas, Texas) tacked on back-to-back goals separated by 6:20 of game time. Vizzo got in the scoring column with a power-play goal as there was 7:44 remaining before the break. The tally was set up with assists from Curran and Jansson. The visitors wasted little time as freshman Austin Whelan (Richmond Hill, Ontario) just 20 seconds later to increase the margin. The helpers were given to Curran and freshman Mark Zhukov (St. Petersburg, Russia). The Colonels held the edge in the the shot category in the middle period, 10-8.
The final period saw the Bison get on the board first, thanks to a marker from junior Nate Foster (West Chazy, N.Y.). Nichols' lone goal was assisted by graduate student J.B. Baker (Columbia, Md.) and sophomore Lucas Andersson (Stockholm, Sweden). Curry wasn't done as Vizzo lit the lamp once more off assists from senior captain Jordan Williamson (Okotoks, Alberta) and Magill Diaz with 3:49 left in regulation as the contest ended in the 8-1 final.
The Colonels outshot Nichols, 25-22 and went 2-for-4 on the power-play while the Bison were 0-for-5.
Curry senior assistant captain and goaltender Justin Ketola (Cloquet, Minn.) recorded 21 saves in net for the win. Epp was given the loss for Nichols, converting nine stops in the setback.
Curry returns to action on Tuesday, November 26 against Stonehill College at the Falmouth Ice Arena. Puck drop is set for 6:40 p.m. Nichols travels to Endicott College for its next contest on Saturday, December 7 at 3:00 p.m.
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