Auburn, MA --- Nichols College sophomore Frank Butler (East Haven, CT/Hartford Jr. Wolfpack) netted a pair of goals to help lead the Bison past Worcester State, 4-1, in the first semifinal of the Worcester City Shootout this evening at Horgan Rink.

With the victory Nichols (5-1-1) will move onto the championship game tomorrow night to face-off against Assumption at 7:30 PM while Worcester State (3-4-1) will play Becker in the consolation bout at 4:30 PM.

The Greyhounds blanked the Hawks, 6-0, in the other semifinal.

The Bison were also led by second-year Paul Prescott (Oakdale, MI/Aberdeen Wings) who registered the game-winning marker to go along with an assist. Classmate Tyler Beasley (Indianapolis, IN/Rochester Ice Hawks) tied the tournament record with three helpers shared by three other players.

Nichols got on the board first when freshman Mike Weaver (Wakefield, MA/Boston Jr. Bruins) lit up the lamp with a power play score at the 16:52 mark of the first period for the 1-0 edge and his first collegiate tally.

The Green and White then struck for two consecutive tallies over a span of a minute and a half to grab a 3-0 advantage at the second intermission. Prescott found the back of the net at 13:11 before Butler used the man-advantage to register his first marker of the contest.

The Lancers skated hard in the final period and finally broke the shutout when freshman Michael Dery (Grand Rapids, MI/Ogden Mustangs) scored on a wrap around from the left side with help from junior Rich Ledy (Marquette, MI/Soo Thunderbirds) at the 16:59 mark for the 3-1 score.

However, the comeback bid was short lived for Worcester State as Butler used the man advantage to add an insurance goal at 19:40 for the final score.

NC sophomore goalie Alex Larson (Madison, AL/Cleveland Lumberjacks) collected 29 saves to improve to 5-1-1 on the year as his counterpart, second-year Salvatore Tecci (Franklin, MA/Long Beach Bombers) stopped 33 shots in the setback falling to 2-3-1 on the campaign.

Nichols converted 50 percent (3-for-6) of their power play chances as the Blue and Gold could not capitalize on their four chances. The Bison also held the 37-30 margin in shots on goal.

Story By John Hanna --- Sports Information Graduate Assistant

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