Men's Ice Hockey Earns 4-3 Win in Season Opener at Suffolk

THE BASICS 
Salem State, 4 at Suffolk, 3

Records: 
Suffolk University Rams (0-1-0)
Salem State University Vikings (1-0-0)

Location: East Boston, Mass. - Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink

Date: Saturday, November 1, 2025

THE LEAD—  Thanks to four different goal scorers, the Salem State men's ice hockey team came away with a 4-3 win Saturday evening over Suffolk. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nearly five minutes into the first (5:29), Mitch Wilkie (Calgary, Alberta) gave Salem its first lead of the night thanks to assists from James Tatro (Salisbury, Mass.) and Landyn Greatorex (Reading, Mass.). After Greatorex found an open Tatro, he was then able to get the puck over to Wilkie after the nice setup from Tatro.
• However, just 2:24 later, the Rams evened the contest at one by taking advantage of a power play opportunity when Nolan Leonard put his shot past Salem goalie, Will Nepveu (Montreal, Quebec). 
• With just 2:17 left in the first, Salem recaptured the lead courtesy of a Jon Waselko (Powell, Ohio) score with the help of Nick Sweet (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Aren Francis (Nottingham, United Kingdom). For the remainder of the frame, Salem allowed just two shots and took a 2-1 lead going into the second.
• Less than two minutes into the second period (1:45), the Blue and Orange tacked on another score when Ryan Meagher (Boston, Mass.) potted Salem's third goal. After he intercepted a pass in the Rams' zone, he pushed ahead and put his shot past Suffolk goalie Austin McNichols. 
• As the second half continued, Suffolk pulled within one thanks to its second power play goal of the night off the stick of Bobby Lachnace, who coralled a loose puck in front of the net to put it past Nepveu. 
• Salem took its 3-2 lead into the final period and once again went up by two (4-2) nearly 10 minutes in the third (9:58) when Billy Dougherty (Levittown, Pa.) buried his shot past McNichols after he and Ryan Barrett (Wilmington, Mass.) worked a great two-on-one advantage.
• Suffolk would not go quietly as the hosts pulled within one (4-3) when Nolan Leonard tapped his shot with just 2:03 left in the game. Thanks to strong defense and goaltending, the Vikings allowed just three shots and held on for the 4-3 season-opening win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Dougherty's goal marked the first of his collegiate career. Meanwhile, Strykowski's assist was also his first of his collegiate career.
• Nepveu ended the day stopping 36 shots for Salem. With his 36 saves, he now becomes the 14th goalie in program history to record over 1,000 saves in his career (1,014). 
• For Suffolk, McNicholas finished with 25 saves. 
• Suffolk held the advantage in shots, 39-25. However, Salem outshot the Rams, 15-11, in the first period.
• Last year, Salem had 10 games that featured four different goal scorers.
• With today's win, Salem snapped a five-game losing streak to Suffolk. 
• The two programs have now met 10 times. The Rams lead the overall series, 5-3-2.
• The win also marked Salem's first season-opening win since the 2017-18 season, when the squad topped Babson, 3-2, on October 28, 2017. 

UP NEXT

• Salem caps off the weekend with its home opener against Endicott College on Sunday, November 2, at 7:00 p.m.