Box Score NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Framingham State scored five unanswered goals in the final period Saturday afternoon to defeat the UMass Dartmouth ice hockey team 6-3 in MASCAC action at Hetland Arena.
UMass Dartmouth drops to 5-10-3 and 4-6-2 in the league, while Framingham State moves to 4-13-1 and 3-8-1 in conference play.
Ram junior Mark Essery (Watertown, Conn.) scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season while picking up an assist to register three points in the win.
For the Corsairs, junior Mike Kelly (Stoneham, Mass.) and sophomore Mike Sones (Waterdown, Ontario) each earned an assist and a goal on the afternoon, while sophomore Casey Shea (Woburn, Mass.) extended his point-scoring streak to seven games.
Essery put the Rams on the board first late in the opening stanza, taking the pass from junior Chris Andre (New Bedford, Mass.) and senior captain Ricky O'Connor (North Andover, Mass.) to beat freshman goalie Tommy Bay (Duluth, Ga.).
The Corsairs answered back with the next three scores. Sones struck first, connecting on a one-timer pass from sophomore Jerry Laasko (Tampere, Finland) and Shea, going top-shelf for the power play goal. With the score, Sones is now tied for first in the nation with seven power play goals.
Freshman Connor Court (Swansea, Ill.) would give UMass Dartmouth the lead upon receiving an assist from Kelly while charging towards the net to beat freshman Ram net-minder Adam Calabrese (Philadelphia, PA.).
Kelly would extend the Corsair advantage only minutes later, flipping the puck over the sprawled Ram defenseman to beat Calabrese between the legs. UMass Dartmouth would take the 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
The tide turned abruptly out of the break. Framingham State capitalized twice on the same power play, as freshman Jake McKinnon (Framingham, Mass.) and Andre struck within four minutes of each other to tie the game.
The Rams would take the lead as Essery notched his second goal of the game, cleaning up the rebound from a Greg Stoya (Lake George, NY.) shot, beating Bay low. Sophomore Keith Barnaby (Fitchburg, Mass) then cashed in on a Richard Hill (Tampa, FL) rebound with six minutes remaining.
Sophomore Derek Ridgeway (Franklin, Mass.) finished off the game in the closing minutes, flipping the puck from the red line into the empty Corsair net.
Bay made 24 saves but picked up the loss for the Corsairs, falling to 0-2-0. Sophomore Jacob Ferreria (Westport, Mass.) made two stops in nearly five minutes of action. Calabrese turned aside 34 shots and improves to 2-5-1.
UMass Dartmouth converted on only one of its five power play opportunities, while Framingham State found the net on half of its four man-advantage chances.
The Corsairs will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to MASCAC foe Worcester State at 8:30 p.m., while the Rams will host Fitchburg State on the same day at 7:30 p.m.
