Abbate scores twice in setback

            RUTLAND, Vt. – Freshman Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) scored a pair of goals, but Castleton University scored three times in the final 11:23 to rally past Plymouth State University, 4-3, in a non-conference men's ice hockey game at Spartan Arena on Saturday night.

            Abbate gave PSU a 2-0 lead with his team-leading sixth and seventh goals of the year, and junior Peter Laviolette (Brentwood, Tenn.) made it a 3-1 advantage seven minutes into the third, but Castleton rallied with a pair of goals less than a minute apart to tie the game before notching the game-winner with just 21 seconds remaining.

            With the setback Plymouth State falls to 5-6-1, while Castleton improves to 4-8-2.

            The Basics:

            Plymouth State 3, Castleton 4

            Plymouth State (5-6-1)

            Castleton (4-8-2)

            How it Happened.

• Plymouth State pressured throughout the first period but the game remained scoreless until the final seconds. PSU got on the board when junior Jake Gerbner (Havertown, Pa.) forced a turnover at the blue line and skated in alone. Though his shot was denied, Abbate was there to clean up the rebound with just eight seconds left in the frame.
• Abbate would double the lead with a strong individual play late in the second period. He skated around traffic from the right side before whipping a wrist shot on net, then jumped on the rebound to fire a shot to the bottom right corner for a 2-0 lead with 2:25 left in the second.
• Castleton came right back just 19 seconds later when freshman Calvin Moise (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) split the defense and juked around junior goaltender Jake Sabourin (Catonsville, Md.) for the goal.
• The Panthers restored the two-goal lead at the 7:01 mark of the third period when senior Kyle Orgel (Los Angeles, Calif.) took the puck from behind the Castleton goal and sent a backhander through the crease to Laviolette for the easy score.
• The Spartans started the comeback 1:36 later when junior Matt Bloomer (Rochester, N.Y.) rifled a wrister from the top of the faceoff circle and less than a minute later junior Nick Gravina (Bloomingdale, Ill.) beat Sabourin to the top left corner on a shot from the left wing circle to even the game at 3-3.
• PSU came up empty on a late power play chance and senior Troy Taylor (Mississauga, Ontario) notched the game-winner with a wrap-around goal with just 21 seconds remaining.

            Inside the Numbers:

• Abbate leads the Panthers with seven goals and 10 points.
• Gerbner also had a multi-point game with a pair of assists.
• Plymouth State held a 43-27 edge in shots.
• Neither team was successful on the power play. PSU finished 0-for-1, while the Spartans were held scoreless in three chances.
• Sabourin made 23 stops for the Panther but dropped to 0-2-0, while freshman Brandon Collett (Brockton, Mass.) improved to 2-6-1 with his 40-save effort.

            Up Next:

• Plymouth State travels to #15 New England College on Tuesday (Jan. 7) for a 7:00 p.m. contest.

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