PAXTON, Mass. – Sophomore
Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) notched his first career hat trick to lead Plymouth State University to a 5-3 win over Anna Maria College in a men's ice hockey game at Horgan Arena on Saturday evening.
Abbate got the scoring started early in the first, but the AMCATS rebounded to go ahead 2-1. Abbate struck again to open the second period scoring before the teams traded goals to make it 3-3 heading into the second intermission.
Senior
Peter Laviolette (Brentwood, Tenn.) gave PSU the lead for good with six minutes remaining, and Abbate completed the hat trick three minutes later to give the Panthers some breathing room.
The contest was the final game for the Plymouth State senior class; Laviolette,
Jake Gerbner (Havertown, Pa.),
Brandon Barillaro (Alexandria, Ontario),
JR Barone (West Chester, Pa.) and
Brett Backman (Cos Cob, Conn.).
Plymouth State wraps up the condensed season with an even 4-4-0 record with all four wins coming against Anna Maria. The AMCATS drop to 1-5-0.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 5, Anna Maria 3
- Plymouth State (4-4-0)
- Anna Maria (1-5-0)
Three Stars:
- Plymouth State
- Anna Maria
- Sam Cyr-Ledoux (two goals)
How it Happened:
- Abbate got the Panthers off to a quick start when he picked up his fourth goal of the year just 3:40 into the opening period.
- The AMCATS rallied, though, tying the game just 35 seconds later, then going ahead with 6:45 left in the frame.
- PSU dominated the period everywhere but on the scoreboard, outshooting the hosts by a 15-6 margin and winning 16-of-25 faceoffs.
- Abbate struck again at 6:27 of the second period to pull the Panthers even after converting a feed from junior Mike McPherson (Somerville, Mass.).
- After Anna Maria regained the lead at 13:40 of the middle period, sophomore Marcus Seidl (Stockholm, Sweden) lit the lamp on the power play with just over a minute remaining to square the game at 3-3 heading into the final 20 minutes.
- Plymouth State capitalized on a power play opportunity late in the third period as Laviolette notched his first of the year with six minutes left to play.
- Abbate gave PSU some insurance when he banged home a rebound three minutes later to complete the hat trick.
By the Numbers:
- Freshman Kalle Andersson (Taby, Sweden) made 27 saves to move to 2-3-0.
- Plymouth State fired 43 shots on goal to the AMCATS 30.
- The Panthers converted 2-of-4 power play opportunities, while PSU's penalty kill unit was perfect against Anna Maria's four chances.
- Plymouth State has never lost to the AMCATS, improving to 4-0-1 all-time.
Up Next:
- The victory marks the end of the Panthers' season under the guidance of 11-year head coach Craig Russell.
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