After 378 days since their last game, the men’s hockey team got their first win of the 2021 season with a victory over Nichols College Sunday.

With goals scored by Gavin O’Neill and Griffin Clark, along with a hat trick from Alex Kolowrat, the Rams were able to secure a 5-3 victory over the Bison.

The first period was not a disappointment as the Rams quickly secured a 2-0 lead over Nichols. Sophomore Alex Kolowrat scored both opening goals with assists from Clark and Billy Rouche. 

With 16 seconds left in the period, Nichols’ Nate Foster cut the lead in half to put the Bison on the board with assists from Lucas Anderson and Philip Bjorkman. Despite outshooting the Bison 15 to 8 in the first period, the Rams were unable to build their lead as the period wound down. 

Kolowrat completed his hat trick on a goal with 1:39 left in the second period thanks to assists from Peter Nugent and Ryan Donelly. A minute later, Nichols scored with 40 seconds left to make it 3-2. 

Nichols soon scored a powerplay goal to tie the game up. The third period winded down as the Rams and Bison were neck to neck with one another, trying to gain the upper hand. It was fast-paced and intense. Nichols led 42-34 in face-off wins over the Rams.

Suffolk’s Gavin O’Neil scored with 13:49 left in the period and gave the Rams a 4-3 lead. John Garrity was credited with the assist. 

The Rams kept their foot on the gas as they beat the Bison 5-3 with an insurance empty netter goal score by Clark. 

It was their forecheck that kept the Bison at bay. The Rams outshot the Bison 31 to 24 throughout the whole game. Suffolk Goalie Cal Wilcox made 21 out of 24 saves to help the Rams secure the victory. 

After the game, Rams Assistant Coach John Burgess gave his thoughts about the hard-fought victory over their new conference opponent.

“It felt great and I think a lot of our sophomores played fantastic. Kids like Alex Kolowrat, Griffin Clark, Cal Wilcox, along with our sophomores had played really well,” said Burgess.  “It was nice to see some of our seniors had a great game like Gavin O’Neil, Joe Vingi, Miller Rubin, up and down the line-up. They played hard. It was nice to see some of those guys that are really coming along and really developing.” 

Suffolk Forward Joe Vingi also shared his thoughts after the win.

“It’s great. We’ve been waiting a long time for this and it’s been 378 days since our last game. So it’s exciting to get back on the ice,” said Vingi. “It’s just exciting because we love each other and we were all willing to get back on the ice. We’ve been dying to run through someone so it’s exciting.”

Follow Ricardo on Twitter: @OrphanosRicardo