Box Score NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth hockey team earned a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Salem State University this afternoon in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest inside Hetland Arena. The Corsairs registered their fifth consecutive victory to even their overall record at 10-10-2, while improving to 9-5-1 inside the conference circuit.
UMass Dartmouth opened the scoring at the 6:15 mark of the opening period, when the nation's most aggressive penalty-kill unit generated a scoring opportunity. Senior Steven Leonard (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) utilized a strong fore-check to disrupt the Vikings' breakout and freshman Austin Miller (Meridian, Idaho) gathered the puck near the left dot. Miller sent a diagonal pass to Leonard at the doorstop, where he tapped in his ninth marker of the season, including his team leading third game-winning goal. The Corsairs sit atop the NCAA Division III standings with 12 short-handed goals on the campaign.
UMass Dartmouth doubled its advantage less than six minutes into the second stanza. Freshman John Grealish (Bakersfield, Calif.) ripped his third tally of the season over the netminders' left shoulder to convert feeds from sophomore Blake Harlow (Pelham, Ala.) and classmate Jake Maynard (St. John, Ind.). The Corsairs defensive unit continued to stifle the visitors, limiting Salem State to just six attempts in the frame.
Freshman Daniel Davidson (Surrey, B.C.) protected the advantage, turning aside all 26 shots he faced to record his first collegiate shutout. Davidson made two key saves to kill a 5-on-3 opportunity in the third period.
Senior netminder Sean Cleary (Barnstable, Mass.) kept the visitors within striking distance with 47 stops, including 18 in the second period.
The Corsairs held a commanding 49-26 lead in shots. UMass Dartmouth was unsuccessful on three power play opportunities, while the Corsairs overcame five Salem State extra-man situations.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action at 7:20pm on Thursday, Feb. 20, when the Corsairs host MASCAC rival Plymouth State University. Salem State will also be in action on Thursday night, when the Vikings square off against Framingham State.
