BRISTOL, R.I. — The Roger Williams University Men's Ice Hockey team dropped a 3–1 decision to Nichols College on Saturday evening in Conference of New England (CNE) action. The loss moves the Hawks to 6–17–1 overall and 4–14–1 in conference play, while the Bison improve to 10–13–1 (7–11–1 CNE).
After a scoreless opening period, Nichols broke through in the second. Jeremy Tremblay opened the scoring at 5:43, finishing a feed from Luca Ricci and Aaron Hamel to give the Bison a 1–0 lead. Nichols extended its advantage at 16:27 of the frame when Herman Asberg capitalized off assists from Tristan Kimmen and CJ Zezima, sending the Hawks into the second intermission trailing 2–0.
The Hawks responded early in the third period. At 3:07, Jason Tynan (Mesa, Ariz.) netted his first goal of the season at even strength, finishing a pass from Aidan Radic (Castle Rock, Colo.) to cut the deficit to 2–1 and inject life into the Hawks' bench.
The Hawks continued to press in the final minutes, earning two power-play opportunities in the third period, but were unable to convert. RWU finished 0-for-3 on the man advantage, generating just one shot across 5:27 of power-play time. Nichols also went scoreless on its two power plays.
With the Hawks pushing for the equalizer late, Nichols sealed the game with an empty-net goal at 19:46 of the third period. Kimmen scored the insurance marker, assisted by Gavin Duckworth and Ricci, to secure the 3–1 final.
RWU controlled the faceoff circle for much of the night, holding a 33-27 edge. The Hawks blocked 22 shots in the contest to the Bison's 12. Nichols took 30 shots, while Roger Williams took 15. Roger Williams goaltender Jacob Jaslow (Tomkins Cove, N.Y.) kept the Hawks within striking distance throughout the contest, turning aside numerous second-period attempts. Despite sustained third-period pressure and multiple faceoff wins in the offensive zone, Nichols' goaltender Ryan Henry made timely saves down the stretch to secure the win.
The Hawks will look to rebound as they finish their regular season on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Wentworth.
