WORCESTER, Mass. – Powered by a two-goal night from winger
Michael Perrone, the UMass Dartmouth men's hockey team defeated Worcester State, 5-3 in MASCAC action on Thursday evening. The win moves the Corsairs to 13-9-0 with an 11-7-0 conference mark. The Lancers drop to 6-16-0 with a 5-12-0 MASCAC record.
UMass Dartmouth opened the game's scoring at 3:12 as a pass from the top of the zone by captain
Jake Maynard hit the stick of sophomore winger
Vincent Nicosia. Corralling the puck, Nicosia banked it into the net past Lancers goalie Jakub Kubik.
The home team answered at 3:16 of the second period, tying it at 1-all as a faceoff in the Corsairs zone saw Christian Howanitz fire in a quick shot past UMass Dartmouth's
Marshall McKallip. Earning the assist was Matt Lombardi, who won the faceoff, along with Brady Carpenter.
UMass Dartmouth regained the lead at 8:36 as Perrone fired a pass to rookie center
Collin Patterson. Skating down the left boards, Patterson found first year winger
Alex Walker in front as he dropped it in to the right of Kubik.
The advantage held for four minutes as the Lancers had another critical faceoff win by Shane Prifrel. The puck caromed out to Brendan Ronan, who one-timed it past McKallip at 12:39 for the equalizer and a 2-all score.
Patterson regained the lead for the visitors at 14:02, stealing the puck off a Worcester State defender in their own zone. Getting a quick handle on it, he skated in alone, drawing the goalie out of position as he fired it into the open net to make it 3-2 heading into the final stanza.
In the final period of play, the Corsairs built up a two-goal lead just 58 seconds in as Walker stole the puck off a Lancer defender deep in the zone. Turning toward the low slot, he found Perrone, who fired it in for the 4-2 score and a power play tally.
The Lancers got it back minutes later as the home team took advantage on their own power play at 3:04 as Brian Clougherty got the puck off a Corsairs defender, chipping a pass to Mikey Wilson for the low shot past McKallip.
The Lancers pulled their goalie at 18:19 and the Corsairs took advantage less than a minute later as Perrone netted his second tally of the game. Patterson earned the assist, collecting the puck and skating up the right boards. Patterson sent a cross-ice pass to Perrone on the far side of the neutral zone, as he banked it into the open net to seal the victory.
The Corsairs, who owned a 40-22 margin in shots, was paced by Perrone, who notched two goals and a helper. Patterson dropped in a goal with two assists, as Walker had a goal and a helper. In goal, McKallip earned the win, notching 19 saves on the night.
Worcester State was paced by three different scorers, including Howanitz, Ronan and Wilson. Kubik shouldered the loss, recording 35 saves over 58:34 minutes.
UMass Dartmouth returns to the ice on Saturday, hosting Salem State University at 5:30pm at Hetland Arena. The game also marks Senior Day for the Corsairs as nine players will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
