WORCESTER, Mass. – Behind a solid offensive effort, Worcester State University defeated UMass Dartmouth, 5-3 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Saturday at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The Lancers move to 10-8-1 overall with a 7-5-1 conference mark, while the Corsairs slip to 9-10-1 and 6-6-1 in the MASCAC.
The Corsairs opened the game's scoring at 15:40 of the opening period as junior defender and assistant captain
Lane Ruffner fired a puck in toward goal from the top of the right circle. Fifth year center and assistant captain
Michael Mania was right in front in the low slot, tipping the puck in on goal, but the rebound came out to junior left winger
Vincent Nicosia as he buried it in on the right corner.
UMass Dartmouth carried the lead into the second period, but could not hold off the Lancers as they tacked on two power play goals in the frame. Frederic Pinel netted the equalizer, finding the puck in a scrum in front as he buried it past UMD goalie
Graham Burke.
The Lancers got the go-ahead at 16:59 as Shane Prifrel corralled the puck off a feed from Matthew Nuzzolilo, banking it past Burke.
In the third period, the Corsairs answered as rookie defender
Hunter Scanlon stole the puck in the UMD end, carrying it into the neutral zone as he chipped it left to junior left winger
Tyler Stewart. Navigating into the WSU zone, Stewart sent a cross ice pass to Scanlon in the right circle as he fired it home to pull the Corsairs to within one (3-2).
Despite a number of chances, the Corsairs were unable to net the equalizer as the Lancers tacked on a pair of empty net goals in the final two minutes of play to seal the victory.
Worcester State saw goalie Wyatt Friedlander earn the win with 33 saves, while Burke shouldered the loss with 26 saves.
The Corsairs return to action on Monday, traveling to Salem State for a 7pm game against the Vikings.
