BURRILLVILLE, R.I. – The Salve Regina men's ice hockey team was edged by Nichols College, 4-3, in its Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast opener at Levy Rink on Saturday night. The Bison improve to 3-0-0 on the season and 1-0-0 in ECAC Northeast play, while the Seahawks fall to 1-3-0 on the year and 0-1-0 in the league.

Salve Regina jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as sophomore John Scorcia (Hudson, Fla.) found the bottom right corner of the net as senior Mike Cenisio (Chadds Ford, Pa.) and freshman Marc Biggs (Dallas, Texas) helped capitalize on the shorthanded goal just 1:51 into the contest. Nichols responded midway through the period courtesy of an unassisted marker by Sposit who swiped the puck from a defender, turned around and fired past the visiting goaltender at 9:30.

Both teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 until Joe Sposit (Cleveland, Ohio) broke through on a power play less than a minute into the second period shortly after a faceoff. He would receive help from senior Zach Kohn (Delafield, Wis.) and sophomore Kyle Shapiro (Amber, Pa.). With 3:26 left in the frame, Shapiro stole the puck and beat the goaltender on the glove side.

Salve Regina inched closer in the third period off freshman Peter Gintoli's (Monroe, Conn.) third goal of the season with a shot from the top of the left circle that trickled into the net at 13:15. First-year Frank Butler (East Haven, Conn.) scored a key insurance goal and what proved to be the game-winner at 16:15 as he tapped in a shot originally taken by senior Danny Greiner (Columbus, Ohio) that sat on the goal line. Thirty two seconds later, the Seahawks made it a one score contest courtesy of sophomore Scott McMenimen (Exeter, N.H.) who found the back of the net at 16:47.

Bison junior goaltender Dylan Woodring (Rogue River, Ore.) improved to 3-0-0 on the year as he collected 25 saves. Senior Mike McDonald (Whitby, Ontario) dipped to 1-3-0 as he turned away a game-high 34 shots.

Nichols travels to the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, Mass. for a 7:50 p.m. ECAC Northeast game against Becker on Wednesday. The Bison will host the Ice Hawks 10 days later in the opening contest of the second annual Worcester City Shootout. Salve Regina entertains Suffolk on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in an ECAC Northeast matchup.

Courtesy of Nichols Sports Information