Key MASCAC loss drops Panthers to third place 

            NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's hockey team defeated visiting Plymouth State University, 4-1, Saturday afternoon at the Hetland Ice Arena in a battle of teams tied for first place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC).

            UMD is now in sole possession of first place in the MASCAC with 21 points (15-6-1 overall, 10-4-1 in league play), while PSU dropped to third place with 19 points (13-4-5 overall, 8-4-3 in the MASCAC).

            The Panthers jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game.  Senior Sean Buckley (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) deflected the shot of sophomore Sean Foley (Weymouth, Mass.) past the goalie just 56 seconds into the contest.  The Corsairs rallied to tie the score, 1-1 at 16:15 as junior Mike Owens took a feed from junior Andrew Pontes.

            UMD took the lead just past the midway point of the second period.  Junior Paul Graham blasted a shot that caromed off the goalie and fell towards McDonald, who one-timed the reboundto give UMD a 2-1 advantage.  The score stayed that way for the remainder of the period as each team had three power play opportunities, which were successfully killed off.

            The home team took a two-goal advantage at 16:14 of the third period as junior Rob Dudley got the puck just past the blue line and streaked towards the goal providing a nifty feed to Stahl.  The Corsairs capitalized on the empty net in the final minute as Hill unselfishly fed Owens for the game's final tally.

            Plymouth State out shot UMass Dartmouth, 36-33.  Senior goaltender Collin Tracy made 35 saves for the Corsairs, while Jack Astedt (Angelholm, Sweden) made 29 for PSU.

            UMD will return to action when they host Worcester State Thursday evening. The Panthers will host Framingham State next Saturday. 

(Courtesy of UMass Dartmouth Sports Information) 

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