Nichols Edges Men’s Ice Hockey, 3-2 (OT)

HARRISVILLE, R.I. – Nichols senior forward Daniel Bufis (Linden, N.J.) delivered the game-winning goal for the Bison at the 3:35 mark of overtime to edge Endicott, 3-2, on Wednesday night at Levy Rink.

Endicott freshman defenseman Dominic Nitti (Cottage Grove, Minn.) evened the score at 2-2 in the second period (12:06) on feeds by Nicholas Petrella (Hilton, N.Y.) and Carter Horwitz (Tustin, Calif.) after Nichols held a 2-1 lead at the conclusion of the first.

Bufis opened up the scoring just 5:44 into the contest, while Parker Wood's (Rochester Hills, Mich.) first collegiate goal for the Gulls came 29 seconds prior to Matthew Menta's (Lima, Pa.) go-ahead marker in the period (19:38).

Nichols senior goaltender Alex Larson (Madison, Ala.) improved to 1-1-0 on the season with 25 saves in the win, while Endicott freshman goaltender Kevin Aldridge (Beverly Hills, Mich.) stopped 22 shots in the loss (0-1-1).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Nitti's goal in the second was the first of his collegiate career. 
• Petrella registered two assists in the game becoming the first student-athlete in program history to record a multi-assist game for the Gulls.
• Freshman Alex Marcinek (Byron Center, Mich.) picked up his first collegiate assist in the contest along with Petrella and Horwitz.
• Joseph Kaszupski (Henderson, Nev.) won a team-high nine faceoffs.
• Endicott outshot Nichols, 27-25.
• Nichols entered tonight's matchup as the two-time defending Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast defending champions.
• The Bison were also tabbed No. 1 in the ECAC Northeast preseason poll for the second straight year in October.

FOR THE FOES

• Michael Parnell (Roseville, Minn.), Blake Kelley (Woodbury, Minn.), Steve Lecey (Cedarburg, Wis.), Scott Cuthrell (Waterford, Mich.), and Shane Totten (Traverse City, Mich.) all had assists in the win.
• Cuthrell also went 15-for-21 in the face-off circle.
• As a team, Nichols was 35-for-69 in faceoffs (.507).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (0-1-1, 0-1-1 ECAC Northeast) hosts Suffolk University in the first-ever varsity game at Raymond J. Bourque Arena this Saturday at 1 p.m. Nichols (1-1-0, 1-0-0 ECAC Northeast) travels to Portsmouth, R.I. on Saturday to take on Salve Regina University at 2:35 p.m. 

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