NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – First-year
Kevin Johnston scored a goal and added a pair of assists to lead the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to a 5-2 victory over Framingham State this evening in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at Hetland Arena.
The Corsairs snapped a five-game losing streak to improve to 4-8-2, including a 3-4-1 mark inside the conference circuit, while the Rams fell to 3-8-1 overall and 2-5-1 against MASCAC opponents.
UMass Dartmouth featured a well-balanced attack as five different Corsairs netted a marker and 10 skaters registered at least one point. First-year
Jimmy Mettler and classmate
Vincent Nicosia each recorded their first collegiate goals, while seniors
Justin Weinbrenner and
Sky Silverstein also found the back of the net.
UMass Dartmouth cracked the scoring column midway through the opening period, when Weinbrenner scored his fourth goal of the season. Johnston and junior
Colin Cromie were credited with assists on the initial goal. The hosts doubled their advantage five minutes later as Silverstein tallied his team-leading seventh marker of the campaign to send the Corsairs into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.
The Corsairs continued to pad their advantage in the middle stanza, scoring two goals within 75 seconds to build a 4-0 lead. Framingham State was finally able to solve UMass Dartmouth with just over seven minutes remaining in the period to cut the deficit to 4-1.
UMass Dartmouth regained its four-goal advantage early in the final period, when Johnston connected on a feed from Mettler. The Rams closed out the scoring on Ethan Cervonayco's penalty shot with 87 seconds left on the scoreboard.
Senior
Daniel Davidson made 26 saves to earn the victory in net, while Blake Carlson stopped 34 attempts in the loss.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 5pm on Thursday, January 12, when the Corsairs host Plymouth State (11-3-1).
