SALEM, Mass. – Powered by a goal in each period, Salem State posted a 3-1 defeat over UMass Dartmouth in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) quarterfinals. The third-seeded Vikings improve to 19-6 overall, while the sixth-seeded Corsairs see their season come to an end with an 11-14-1 mark.
Salem State advances to the MASCAC Semifinals and will host Fitchburg State on Saturday for the chance to play in the conference championship on Saturday, March 8.
The home team opened the game's scoring at 3:08 of the first period, taking advantage on the power play as junior left wing Landyn Greatorex dropped in a pass from rookie right winger James Tatro for the go-ahead tally.
In the second period of play, it was Tatro's time to shine as he converted a feed from graduate center Keagan O'Donoghue to make it a 2-0 advantage at 16:14 of the middle stanza.
The Corsairs answered in the third period as sophomore right wing
Alex Walker sent a well-placed shot in on goal that ricocheted in off the Salem State goalie into the net. Junior left winger
Tyler Stewart earned the primary assist, passing the puck up to Walker, while sophomore center
Nolan Wutzke had the secondary helper after winning the faceoff in the UMD zone and backhanding a pass up to Walker on the move.
UMass Dartmouth worked to tie the game up after that as the Corsairs threw five shots on goal in the final two minutes that continued to be turned aside by Vikings goalie Will Nepveu. Despite the charge, the Corsairs could not hold off Salem State as the home team saw Greatorex drop in an empty net goal at 19:57 to conclude the game's scoring.
The Corsairs owned a 38-37 advantage in shots for the contest, while Wutzke owned a game-high 18-28 margin in the faceoff circle. The Vikings were paced by Nepveu, who recorded the win with 38 saves on the night. UMass Dartmouth netminder
Graham Burke shouldered the loss, recording 36 saves overall.
