NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Backed by a power play goal late in the third period by junior winger
Alex Walker, the UMass Dartmouth men's hockey team posted a 2-1 victory over Worcester State University in non-conference action on Tuesday at Hetland Arena.
The victory - which marked the 250th career win for UMD head coach
Erik Noack - concludes the 2025 portion of the schedule for the Corsairs, who improve to 6-5-0 overall. The visiting Lancers are now 4-4-3 overall.
Locked in a 1-1 tie following the opening two periods of action, the Corsairs took advantage on the power play late in the final stanza. Sophomore defender
Hunter Scanlon got the play going, keeping the puck in the zone as he slid it over to senior winger and assistant captain
Tyler Stewart.
Making a quick play, Stewart dropped it back to Walker at the top of the slot, who rocketed a shot into the top right corner of the net for the go-ahead goal. The Corsairs fended off an onslaught of chances by the visiting Lancers, who posted two shots on senior goalie
Graham Burke, while two others were blocked by the UMD defense over a one minute span.
Worcester State pulled their goalie following a Corsair penalty and peppered Burke with four shots until the power play concluded with just five seconds remaining as the Corsairs regained possession for the win.
UMass Dartmouth opened the game's scoring just 17 seconds into the first period as rookie right winger
Chris Cardillo fired home a shot off a feed from classmate and center
Kailin Chen from the right side. Senior captain and defender
Lane Ruffner earned the secondary assist.
The Lancers scored their lone goal in the second period, just before the end of the frame as senior center Shane Prifrel connected on a pass from junior winger Matthew Nuzzolilo past the reach of Burke. Junior defender Michael Schaaf netted the secondary assist.
In goal, Burke was outstanding in garnering his second win of the season, posting a season-high 44 saves. He made 17 stops in the first, 14 in the second and 13 in the third to hold off the Lancers. His counterpart, junior Salvatore Carabelli recorded 23 saves in the loss.
Chen paced the effort in the faceoff circle, going 10-10 overall, while rookie center
Liam Fecteau and junior center and assistant captain
Nolan Wutzke were both 9-7 on the draw. Both Ruffner and Scanlon recorded a game-high three blocks apiece.
UMass Dartmouth is back in action in 2026, traveling to Keene State on January 9 for a 7:30pm Little East Conference tilt. The Corsairs then head to Western Connecticut State, facing off against the Wolves at 2:30pm on January 10.
