Astedt posts shutout; Kriner, Stewart spark offense 

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior Bryan Kriner (Newport, R.I.) and senior Andrew Stewart (O'Leary, P.E.I.) scored two goals apiece and sophomore goaltender Jack Astedt (Angelholm, Sweden) stopped all 17 shots he faced Saturday night as Plymouth State University defeated Worcester State University, 6-0, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey game at Hanaway Rink.

            The Panthers scored two goals in each period to pull away from the Lancers, out-shooting the visitors 29-17 for the game.  PSU stopped a brief two-game skid, improving to 12-3-5 overall and 7-3-3 in the MASCAC and moving into a tie for second place.  Worcester State drops to 8-8-3 overall and 5-7-1 in conference play.

            Astedt needed to make only three saves in the first and third periods and 11 in the middle frame to post his third shutout of the season.  He lowered his goals against average to 1.84, fifth-best in the nation, and improved his save percentage to .934, third-best in the country.

            Kriner wasted little time in putting the Panthers on the board, scoring his first of two goals in the opening frame just 28 seconds after the first puck was dropped.  He made it 2-0 at 10:45 with a nifty move around the defenseman and a beautiful high shot to score his second of the game and 12th of the season midway.

            Stewart doubled the Panther lead midway through the second period with a pair of goals in a three-minute, 16-second span.  He converted a centering pass from senior Sean Buckley (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) for a 3-0 margin at 12:58, and he finished off a Panther power play with his second of the game and team-leading 13th of the season at 16:14.

            Sophomore Kyle Greco (Hillside, Ill.), who assisted on Kriner's two goals, tacked on a power play goal midway through the third period, and Buckley rounded out the scoring in the final two minutes of action.

            PSU is back on home ice on Thursday, hosting league-leading Salem State University in another key MASCAC contest; the Panthers are 0-1-1 against the Vikings this season.  Worcester State wraps up its non-league schedule Wednesday at home against local rival Assumption College. 

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