Men’s Ice Hockey Stretch Streak to Six, Rolls Past Nichols, 5-1

HARRISVILLE, R.I. – Suffolk men's ice hockey ran its win streak to six straight as it knocked down Nichols, 5-1, Saturday afternoon at Levy Rink. The Conference of New England (CNE) triumph came behind Dimitri Voyatsiz' four-point performance. The six wins in a row are the most in the Rams' game-by-game record book, which date through the 1999-00 campaign.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 5 | Nichols 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (12-7-1, 12-3-1 CNE) | Nichols (7-12-0, 4-10-0 CNE) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a scoreless first period, Suffolk broke the deadlock on the power play as Jake Grace converted a rebound off a Daniel McKiernan shot from the crease. Dimitri Voyatzis played a key role, keeping the puck along the back boards to set up the chance.
• The Rams extended their lead in the second period as a full-team effort resulted in Ralph Berry rifling a shot into the top right corner at the 10:08 mark. Voyatzis and Joe O'Brien earned assists on the play.
• Just nine seconds before the second intermission a crafty play by Voyatzis, who kept the puck alive with a backhand, led to a pass directly to McKiernan, who tapped home the goal. Ryan Webb had a hand in the marker as well. 
• Suffolk picked up where it left off in the third period with its fourth goal off a Bobby Lachance faceoff win. After a scramble on the boards, Webb passed to Voyatzis in front of the net, and he buried his fourth point of the night just one minute into the period.
• Nichols answered just over a minute later with a power play tally, but Suffolk closed out the scoring as Nolan Leonard netted the fifth and final goal with 7:51 remaining after a one-two with Marko Giourof to close out the 5-1 victory. 

NETMINDER NOTES

• Austin McNicholas recorded 21 saves.
• Ryan Henry stopped 34 shots for Nichols. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Voyatzis secured three assists and one goal on the night.
• McKiernan added two points with one goal and one assist.
• Grace logged two handouts.
• Berry, and Leonard scored one goal apiece.
• Webb handed out two helpers.
• O'Brien, Lachance, and Leonard supplied one handout each.
• Suffolk handily had the advantage in shots, 64-31, including a 39-22 edge in shots on target.
• The Bison won more face offs though, 30-22. 
• The Rams went 3-for-8 on the power play compared to Nichols' 1-for-6. 

NOTEWORTHY

• The win marked Suffolk's sixth in a row, the longest know win streak in the record books, which date through the 1999-00 campaign. 
• The six straight unbeaten games, however, is the longest unbeaten streak for the blue-and-gold since a seven-game unbeaten stretch Oct. 31-Nov. 19, 2015. 
• Suffolk improved to 33-26-7 all-time against Nichols and 15-5-4 on the road versus the Bison. 
• The Rams remain unbeaten in the last five meetings with Nichols, going 3-0-2.
• The blue-and-gold has outscored Nichols, 15-3, in the last three tangles. 
• Under head coach Shawn McEachern, Suffolk is now 4-4-2 all-time against Nichols.
• Voyatzis recorded his first four-point night with one goal and three assists. The multi-point game is the second of his Suffolk career, first since Nov. 20, 2015 at Endicott. The sophomore pushed his point streak to four games with two markers and five handouts in that span. 
• Leonard scored his fifth goal of the season, extending his point streak to two games and reaching 22 points on the year.
• Giourof notched his 14th assist of the season, continuing a six-game point streak (3g, 7a), bringing his total to 27 points on the season.
• McKiernan has scored in three straight games, bringing his season total to 17 points (11g, 6a).
• Berry has scored in consecutive games for a total of 10 points (3g, 7a).
• Grace tallied his second goal of the season and finished with his third multi-point game of the year. 
• Webb recorded two assists, bringing his season total to three assists in the last two games.
• Lachance collected his sixth assist of the season, marking his third straight game with a point.
• O'Brien notched his second helper of the season. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk returns to Porrazzo Rink on Tuesday, Feb. 10 to host its final non-conference contest of the season against Framingham State on Senior Night. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. in East Boston.