NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – The Plymouth State University men's hockey team raced out to 4-1 lead in the first period and rode the momentum to a 7-3 victory Saturday evening against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at Hetland Arena. The Panthers won their sixth consecutive contest to improve to 14-4-2, while the Corsairs fell to 8-9-1.
Junior Jacob Laurin (Stockholm, Sweden) and sophomore Anton Kasstrom (Ornskoldsvik, Sweden) paced Plymouth State's offensive attack with three points each, while graduate student JR Barone (West Chester, Pa.) netted two markers. Junior Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) handed out a pair of helpers and sophomore Kalle Andersson (Taby, Sweden) registered 30 saves to collect the victory in net.
Graduate student Dillon Radin (Long Beach, N.Y.) led UMass Dartmouth with a balanced attack, scoring a goal and recording an assist for two points. Junior Austin Miller (Meridian, Idaho) and classmate Cade Hanley (Bozeman, Mont.) each tallied a marker.
Plymouth State opened the scoring at 5:08 of the opening period, when sophomore Whim Stalberg (Gotenburg, Sweden) slipped a backhand inside the far post. The Panthers scored two markers within 71 seconds to take a decisive 3-1 advantage. UMass Dartmouth cracked the scoring column at 16:37, when Miller converted a feed from Radin and junior Sky Silverstein (Riverhead, N.Y.). The visitors regained their three-goal lead with 97 seconds remaining in the first frame.
Plymouth State extended its advantage to 6-1 with two markers in the second stanza, but the Corsairs wouldn't go quietly in the third. Radin notched an unassisted goal at six minutes and Hanley scored on the man-advantage to trim the deficit to 6-3. The Panthers sealed the win with a power-play goal late in the third period.
Junior Daniel Davidson (Surrey, B.C.) suffered the setback in net, allowing six goals and posting 17 saves in 40 minutes of action. Graduate student Parker Butler (Summit, N.J.) stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced in the final 20 minutes of action.
Plymouth State had a slight edge in shots on net (34-33), but the Panthers dominated the face off circle (45-74). Plymouth State and UMass Dartmouth both converted 1-of-2 opportunities on the power play.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 6:30pm on Tuesday, February 8, when the Corsairs host Fitchburg State (13-5, 11-3 MASCAC).
