In the season opener, the Nichols Prep team traveled to St. Michael's College and left with a 3-1 victory. From the opening faceoff, it was evident that Nichols was ready to compete. Nichols came out hard, finishing checks and winning the battle of the boards, and they were eventually rewarded on the scoresheet. Ten minutes into the first period, Charlie Stein took a Derek Marks pass down the left wing boards and fired a low snapshot to give Nichols their first goal of the season and the 1-0 lead. The lead was short lived as St. Mikes scored on a defnsive zone turnover three minutes later to even the score at 1-1.
The second period saw both teams trade power plays, but it was clear that Nichols was gaining strength and starting to gain confidence. Although the score was still tied at 1-1, the Nichols team began to generate numerous scoring chances.
It was the in third period that Nichols began to take control of the game. Most of the period was spent in the St. Mike's end of the rink, and at the 10 minute mark, Matt Benedict was able to finally break the tie as he slipped a wrist shot under the crossbar to finsh a quick two-on-one with Andrew Stein. Nichols turned up the pressure and shut down any chance of a St. Michael's attack. With the St. Mike's goalie pulled, Avery Coppins scored on the empty net to put the game away. Brandon Mueller made 16 saves in the win as Nichols outshot St. Mikes 43-17 for the game.
The prep team will take a break for exams and the Thanksgiving holiday and will return to play when they travel to the Berkshire Showcase on November 30. Nichols will play Pomfret School(Ct.) at 9:00am and Brunswick School (Ct.) at 1:00.
Congratulations to the boys and to Coach Printz and his coaching staff. I was at the game and the kids really played hard from start to finish. A nice win to start off a new season. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteT Marks