BURRILLVILLE, R.I. – Senior Kurt Williams (Rocky Mountain House, Alta./Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)) made 35 saves but it was not enough to lead the Manhattanville men’s hockey team to a victory on Wednesday night, as the Valiants dropped a 2-1 contest to non-conference Nichols College at Levy Rink.
Williams kept Manhattanville (8-6-1) in the game by turning aside a career-high 35 attempts, but the Valiant offense could only get one shot past Nichols netminder Alex Larson. Sophomore Stephen Gaul (Downers Grove, Ill./Springfield Pics (USPHL)) scored the lone goal of the game for the visitors, his team-leading eighth tally of the season.
Manhattanville fired 18 shots on the net of Larson over the first 20 minutes, but it was Nichols (11-4-0) that headed into the first intermission with the lead thanks to a Rob Belger shot from the slot that beat Williams at the 17:26 mark of the opening frame.
Gaul evened the score with 6:15 remaining in the middle stanza from junior Tanner Hicks (Calgary, Alta./Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) and sophomore Kevin Loppatto (Atlanta, Ga./Springfield Pics (USPHL)), but Nichols regained the lead less than five minutes later on a Sean Swansen score with 1:35 on the clock.
The Valiants had plenty of chances to the tie game in the third period, despite being outshot 12-10 in the frame. Manhattanville had a great chance to get the equalizer when Nichols was whistled for a penalty with 2:06 remaining in regulation, but the team managed only one on-target shot.
For the game, Manhattanville posted a 42-37 edge in shots. Both teams went scoreless in three man-up opportunities, while Nichols was credited with a 39-32 edge at the faceoff dot.
The Valiants will close out non-conference play on Friday night, when the team returns home to Playland Ice Casino to host #11/10 Williams College beginning at 7 p.m.
