Unbeaten streak continues for first-place Panthers

            FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Sophomore Kyle Weiland (Hamden, Maine) scored two goals and freshman Travis Stevens (Montclair, Calif.) added two assists Thursday evening as the Plymouth State University ice hockey team cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Framingham State Rams in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey action at Loring Arena.

            The Panthers remain atop the conference standings as they extend their nation's-longest unbeaten streak to 15 games (10-0-5) and improve to 11-1-5 on the season and 6-1-3 in conference play.  The Rams fall to 2-11-1 overall and 2-8-1 in the conference.

            Plymouth State took a 1-0 lead just 1:15 into the game on senior Andrew Stewart's (O'Leary, PEI) 10th goal of the season.  The Panthers extende their lead to 3-0 with two goals less than 30 seconds apart; Weiland connected on what proved to be the game winner at 15:58 and Tim Visich (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) scored his first of the season at 16:21.

            PSU added to their lead in the second period as Weiland scored on the power play at 11:14 and Kyle Greco (Hillside, Ill.) tallied his 10th of the season at 14:21.  Senior Sean Buckley (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) added a shorthanded goal in the third period to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead.  Freshman forward Daniel Miressi (Monroe, CT) scored the Rams lone goal with just under two minutes to play to reach the final margin of 6-1. 

            The Panthers outshot the Rams 36-27 in the game and converted on 1-of-4 power play opportunities while the Rams were 0-for-7 with the man advantage. Sophomore Jack Astedt (Angelholm, Sweden) made 26 saves en route to his ninth win of the year, while senior Terence Sullivan (Shirley, Mass.) made 23 stops in two periods of work for the Rams before giving way to junior Todd Rowley (Billerica, Mass.) who made seven stops and allowed one goal in a period of work.

            Both teams return to MASCAC action on Saturday as the Rams travel to UMass Dartmouth at 4:30 p.m., and the Panthers host Fitchburg State at 7 p.m. 

(Courtesy of Framingham State Sports Information) 

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