PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior Ben Parker (Ashland, Mass.) posted a shutout in his first career start and Plymouth State University erupted for four third period goals in a 4-0 victory over Framingham State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey action at Hanaway Rink on Thursday night.
 
Parker was a perfect 14-for-14 in save opportunities putting the Panthers in an opportune position to shutdown Framingham State. PSU peppered the Rams' goaltender with 76 shots, but the game remained scoreless into the third period.
 
The offensive attack finally paid off when junior Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) scored a pair of goals, both on the power play, to spark the Panthers' scoring. Not long after, senior Jarrett Slear (West Chester, Pa.) and sophomore Jeromey Rancourt (Lewiston, Maine) added to the advantage.
 
Plymouth State leaps to 6-1-1 (4-0-1 MASCAC), while the Rams fall to 1-9-0 and remain winless in conference play (0-6-0).
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 4, Framingham State 0
  • Plymouth State (6-1-1, 4-0-1 MASCAC)
  • Fitchburg State (1-9-0, 0-6-0 MASCAC)

How it Happened:

• Plymouth State dominated from the opening faceoff, outshooting the Rams by a 23-6 margin in the opening period but the Framingham goaltender held the Panthers off the board.
• Both teams continued with back-and-forth play as Plymouth State kept the pressure on throughout the first two periods.
• Abbate was able to capitalize on the consistent pressure with a power play score 3:03 into the final period when he corralled a rebound before whipping a low angle shot into the goal for the 1-0 lead.
• Just over two minutes later Abbate blasted a one-timer off a cross-ice feed from senior Simon Besner (North Lancaster, Ontario) from nearly the exact same spot to double the lead.
• The Panthers' momentum continued as Slear potted his first of the season at the 8:29 mark and Zimmerman capped the scoring after skating in through a pair of defenders before flicking the puck to the top left with 9:53 remaining.

By the Numbers:

• Plymouth State kept the game one-sided outshooting the Rams by a 76-14 margin while going 52-23 in the faceoff circle.
• Plymouth State went 2-of-9 on the power play, while Framingham State was scoreless in one chance.
• It was the fifth multi-goal game of Abbate's career.
• The Panthers improve to 33-1-2 against Framingham State dating back to the 2007-08 season, including a remarkable 20-0-1 stretch in the last 21 meetings.

 
Up Next:

• Plymouth State is home again on Saturday (Dec. 4) against Salem State University in another MASCAC contest at Hanaway Rink. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m.