NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Powered by a three-goal second period, the UMass Dartmouth men's hockey team defeated Keene State College, 4-2 in non-conference action on Saturday at Hetland Arena. The Corsairs pick up their first win of 2024-25, moving to 1-1-0, while the Owls – who are in their inaugural season as a program – are now 1-2-1.
UMass Dartmouth trailed by a 2-0 margin following the opening period of play, but capitalized in the middle stanza. Rookie defenseman
Hunter Scanlon got the flurry started at 1:41 of the frame, firing in a shot from the right circle for his first collegiate goal. Sophomore center
Collin Patterson and junior defender and assistant captain
Lane Ruffner were credited with the helpers.
The Corsairs tied the contest at 2-all at the 8:53 mark with a power play tally. Rookie defender
Brennen Pecararo notched the first point of his collegiate career after he rifled a shot from the high slot. Junior left winger
Vincent Nicosia was there, tipping the shot in for the equalizer. Junior assistant captain and right winger
Kevin Johnston was credited with the secondary assist.
Later in the frame, Johnston netted a tally of his own after crossing low in front of the goal mouth and banging home a loose puck off the stick of junior left winger
Tyler Stewart. Sophomore center
Connor Little earned the second assist on the marker.
In the final period of play, the Corsairs capitalized on a fantastic individual effort as Patterson collected the puck from Ruffner, skating into the zone down the right side. Crossing through the right circle, he fired a shot past the reach of Owls goalie Ben Skelton on the power play for his second goal of the season. In addition to Ruffner, sophomore left wing
Nolan Wutzke was credited with an assist.
The Corsairs saw Patterson and Johnston each tally a goal and an assist, while Ruffner had two helpers on the night. Junior goalie
Marshall McKallip earned the win, recording 22 saves in net. Little posted a 13-18 margin in the faceoff circle, while Patterson was 9-12 on the faceoff.
Keene State was paced by rookie center Luke Festa and sophomore left winger Marcus Chrisafideis, who each scored for the Owls in the opening period of play. Skelton shouldered the loss, recording 22 saves.
UMass Dartmouth is back on the ice next Saturday when it travels to Keene State for a 3:30pm game. Following the 2024-25 season, the Corsairs and the Owls will both become members of the Little East Conference for hockey, which kicks-off in 2025-26.
