Catching Up

Sorry we have fallen behind on posting.  Here is the short version.

The Nichols Prep A team hosted the Nichols-Belmont Hill tournament over the break.  Kimball Union walked away with the championship defeating Belmont Hill in the final 4-1.  Nichols rolled through the round robin first defeating New Hampton School 6-2.  Next was Hebron Academy from Maine which resulted in a 2-1 victory.  Nichols defeated St. Francis 7-1 to close out the round robin and clinch a first place seed in the bracket.  Nichols would face Belmont Hill in the semifinals and would fall 3-2. 

After the tournament, Nichols traveled up to St. Andrew's in a very important league game.  Unfortunately the Vikings would fall 4-2.  The loss puts Nichols at 2-2 in league play and 9-4-3 overall in the season.  Nichols travels to the St. Francis Tournament to play Wyoming Seminary, New Trier HS (IL) and St. Andrew's College.  The crossover round will be played on Sunday.

Prep A Falls to Choate 2-1

In the semifinals of the Lawrenceville Tournament, Nichols played one of its best games against one of the best in New England but came up short in a 2-1 decision. The game was up and down at an intense pace for the full 45 minutes. Choate scored 4 minutes into the game. Nichols had numerous chances to tie the game but could not find the net. Choate would score on a power play in the third to go up 2-0. With the goaltender pulled, Charlie Stein would finally solve the Choate goaltender with 1:30 remaining. Nichols would get another chance with the goaltender pulled but could not tie the game. Peter Dudek made 28 saves in the game.

Nichols faces Taft on Sunday in the third place game on Sunday at noon.

Nichols v Taft

The Nichols-Taft game will be broadcast on the internet today at noon. Head to the Lawrenceville website under the tournaments section.

Prep A Wins Game 1

The Prep A team started the 63rd Lawrenceville Tournament in style winning game 1 against Northfield-Mt Hermon 4-3 in overtime. Nichols came out flying and Kevin Kirisits scored 15 seconds into the game. Sean Malone put Nichols up 2-0 just two minutes later. NMH would score one before the period was over. NMH tied the game early in the second but Charlie Stein helped Nichols regain the lead. NMH would score on the power play to tie the game after two.

There was no scoring in the third so the game went to overtime. Nick Smith blocked a shot and saw himself on a 2-on-1. Smith opted to shoot and buried the puck over the glove of the NMH goaltender. Brandon Mueller was strong in net making 21 saves.

Nichols will face Choate in the semifinals at 7:00.

Shady Side Game 2

The Prep A team faced Shady Side for the second time in as many days and skated away with a 2-2 tie. Nichols had control all game out shooting Shady Side 39-18, the inability to score goals plagued the team all night. Sean Malone and Nick Smith put the Vikings up by two, but Shady Side closed the gap with a power play goal before the second period ended. With Nichols on a power play for the final two minutes, Shady Side took advantage of defensive miscues and tied the game with just over a minute to play. Despite a flurry of shots in the last minute and a penalty shot with 4 seconds remaining, the game headed to overtime where the score would not change. Peter Dudek made 16 saves.

The Prep A heads to Lawrenceville the weekend for its 63rd year of participation in the Lawrenceville Tournament. Game 1 will be against Northfield-Mt. Hermon, last year's New England Prep School runner-up.

Prep A Recovers Against Shady Side

Nichols hosted Shady Side Academy from Pittsburgh, PA and skated away with a 3-2 victory.  Nichols broke out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Ryan Stayner (his first of the season) and Matt Benedict.  Shady Side crept back with 2 power play goals, but Andrew Poturalski broke the deadlock to secure the victory.  Brandon Mueller made 35 saves for the win.

NIchols Falls in Home Opener

The Nichols Prep A Hockey team hosted St. Andrew's in CISAA League play, and dropped a 2-1 decision for the first loss of the season.  Although Nichols outshot St. Andrew's 38-19, it proved difficult to put the puck in the back of the net.  Nick Smith scored the only goal of the game with just over 2 minutes remaining.  Peter Dudek made 17 saves in net.