BOX SCORE
BABSON PARK, Mass. – Senior captain Matt Sayer (Lowell,
Mass.) scored a pair of third-period goals to snap a 2-2 tie and
send the visiting Nichols College Bison to a 5-2 win over host
Babson College in a non-conference men's ice hockey contest
at the Babson Skating Center on Sunday afternoon. With the victory,
the Bison improved to 4-1-1, while the Beavers fell to 2-3-0.
Babson took a 1-0 lead with a powerplay goal at 7:05 of the
opening period, as freshman Ryan Heavey's (Andover,
Mass.) shot from the left point ricocheted off the boards
behind the net. The rebound then kicked out to sophomore PT
Donato (Arlington, Mass.), who beat Nichols goalie Jacob
Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) high on the glove side from the lower right
circle just nine seconds into the man-advantage.
Nichols evened the score at 1-1 early in the second, beginning
when sophomore Zach Kohn (Hartland, Wisc.) fired a shot from just
outside the crease. Babson sophomore Zeke Testa (Wellesley,
Mass.) made a spectacular save diving to his right, but
junior Zach Hendrickson (Farmingdale, N.Y.) picked up the rebound
and lifted it over the sprawling goaltender to tie the contest at
4:08.
The Beavers used another powerplay goal to regain the advantage,
as Donato took a pass from sophomore Ryan Smith (Lynnfield,
Mass.) on the left side and wristed a shot off a
defenseman's stick and into the upper right corner for his
second of the game at 15:44. However, the Bison answered when
junior Andrew Ella (Schomberg, Ontario) scored off a pass from
sophomore Wil Brown (Hershey, Pa.) in front at 18:19, sending the
contest into the second intermission knotted at 2-2.
Nichols had two quick chances to take the lead early in the
third, but Testa came up with several clutch stops to keep the game
even. A turnover deep in the Babson zone gave Bison senior JoJo
Bojanowski (Washington Township, Mich.) a wide-open shot from the
slot in the opening minute, but Testa deflected his ensuing wrister
wide of the net. Bojanowski then had two straight bids on another
clean breakaway at the three-and-a-half minute mark, but Testa came
up with back-to-back saves to keep it at 2-2.
The Bison finally took their first lead of the game at 6:47 of
the third, when Kohn fired a pass from behind the net to Sayer. The
senior then fired a one-timer from the slot just inside the right
post to give the visitors a 3-2 advantage.
After killing off a Babson powerplay behind four saves by Rinn,
Nichols netted an insurance goal later in the third to make it 4-2.
After Kohn won a draw in the left circle of the Babson zone, Sayer
snapped off a quick shot that found the back of the net at 16:20.
Bojanowski then finished off the scoring with an empty net
powerplay goal at 19:04, capping off the 5-2 Nichols win.
Testa finished with 44 saves in defeat for Babson, while Rinn
stopped a total of 39 shots between the pipes for the Bison.
