Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Despite a strong effort in goal from sophomore Drew Michals (Newton, Mass.), the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's ice hockey team saw an early 2-0 lead slip away on Wednesday, as the Corsairs fell to reigning MASCAC league champion Plymouth State 4-2 at Hanaway Rink.
The Corsairs fall to 0-2-1 with the loss, while the Panthers improve to 2-1-0. Michals, in only his third game for UMass Dartmouth, made a career-high 50 stops on 54 shots from the Panthers on the evening.
The Corsairs opened the contest with scores early, as sophomore Casey Shea (Woburn, Mass.) scored his second goal of the season upon receiving a pass from junior line-mate Mike Kelly (Stoneham, Mass) in the first period. Shea helped to increase the UMass Dartmouth lead to two goals when he sent a pass to sophomore Jerry Laakso (Tampere, Finland), who then fed Mike Sones (Waterdown, Ontario) for the goal on the power play. Along with his two points on the evening, Shea also recorded a team high seven shots on goal.
The Panthers would strike twice in the second period when Andrew Wiggs (Lantz, Nova Scotia) cut the deficit in half at the 9-minute mark. Matt Volonnino (Hackettstown, N.J.) would even the game four minutes later, taking the pass from both Riley Flanagan (Weymouth, Mass.) and Panthers' senior goalkeeper Gordon Ceasar (Oak Park, Calif.) for his first of two goals on the night.
Plymouth State would take their first lead in the eleventh minute of the final period, when sophomore Chris Zuccaro (Hudson, N.H.) sent his shot high past Michals on the power play.
Each team converted once on the power play on the game, while both teams totaled 46 penalty minutes. In goal for the Panthers, Ceasar turned aside 24 shots en route to his second victory on the young season.
The Corsairs will travel next to Westfield State on Saturday for another MASCAC outing, with the contest slated for a 5:35pm start time.
