Pair of Second Period Goals Lift Nichols to 4-1 Win over Western New England

Recap by Greg Fitzpatrick

Kleyman scores fourth goal of the season

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 2, 2018) – The Western New England University ice hockey team surrendered three unanswered goals and suffered a 4-1 loss to Nichols College on Friday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Olympia Ice Center. 

Top Performers
• Junior forward David Kleyman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was the lone goal scorer for the Golden Bears. Carlos Ross (Brockport, N.Y.) and CJ Totillo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) were both credited with assists on Kleyman's goal.
• Junior goaltender Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.) came on in relief for Kyle Carducci (Hartford, Conn.) in the second period and finished off the game with 19 saves.

• Both Scott Cuthrell (Waterford, Mich.) and J.B. Baker (Columbia, MD.) had a goal and assist along with four shots on net for the Bison.
• Sophomores Hogan Davidson (Duluth, Minn.) and Vincent Crivello (Rosemere, Quebec) each had a goal and produced a +1 rating.
• Senior goalie Colin Brennan (Chester, N.J.) made 25 saves on the night for Nichols.

Game Review
At the 12:21 mark of the first period, the Bison got on the board first. Senior defensemen Brien Thompson (Dallas, Tex.) sent a pass from the point to Cuthrell, who slotted the puck home on a one-timer at the near post for his eight goal of the season. With just 1:45 left in the period, the Golden Bears were able to tie the game up with a goal from Kleyman, who stuffed in a loose puck in front of the net. Western New England held a 11-9 advantage in shots in the period. Over the first 20 minutes of play, the Golden Bears were dominant in the faceoff circle, going 13-for-18. 

Nichols was able to retake the lead 3:39 into the second period with a goal from Baker for his team-leading 12^th tally of the year. Just 33 seconds later, Davidson scored to extend the Bison lead to 3-1. Putting 13 shots on net, Nichols was much more aggressive in the offensive zone in the second period.

After Western New England pulled Gollmer with just 1:04 left in the contest, Crivello walked in with an empty net goal to extend the final margin to three.

Notes
• The Bison outshot the Golden Bears 33-26, but Western New England held a 31-28 edge in the faceoff circle.
• With Cuthrell's two-point night, he now has a team-leading 34 points, which is good for fourth in the CCC.
• Totillo has now recorded an assist in five of the last seven games. The junior forward also put up four shots on Friday evening.

Up Next
Western New England (8-12-2, 3-11-1 CCC) will now travel to Harrisville, R.I. to take on Nichols (14-6-2, 9-4-2 CCC) on Saturday with puck drop set for 4:40 p.m at Levy Rink.