Aponte scores shorthander for lone Panther goal

            NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Plymouth State University and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth skated to a 1-1 tie Saturday afternoon in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference men's hockey game at the Stephan Hetland Memorial Ice Arena.

            The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the first period when sophomore Matt Aponte ( Plano, Texas) scored a short-handed goal just in front of the net on a feed from sophomore Sean Foley (Weymouth, Mass.) with just 32 seconds left in the opening frame.

            After a scoreless middle period, the Corsairs answered quickly to start the third.  Junior Andrew Pontes (New Bedford, Mass.) slammed home the rebound of a shot by junior Rob Dudley (Douglas, Mass.) at 1:47, tying the game at 1-1.

            The game would go into overtime and the Corsairs had a great opportunity to break the tie midway through on a breakaway, but freshman Nate Dupere's (Fall River, Mass.) pass was just out of the reach of sophomore Dave McDonald (Wakefield, MA/Valley Jr Warriors).

            The Corsairs outshot the Panthers, 50-29, holding Plymouth State to five shots in the third period. Senior goaltender Collin Tracy (Medford, Mass.) made 28 saves for UMD, while sophomore Jack Astedt (Angelholm, Sweden) made 49 stops for Plymouth State.

            The Corsairs moved to 3-0-1 and 1-0-1 in the MASCAC, while the Panthers moved to 1-1-1 and 0-1-1. UMass Dartmouth will return to action Tuesday evening at Babson. Plymouth State will host Worcester State Tuesday evening at 7:00 at Hanaway Rink. 

(Courtesy of UMass Dartmouth Sports Information) 

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