WESTFIELD, Mass. – Junior
Carson Lanceleve (Stewiacke, Nova Scotia) continued his early season scoring binge with a pair of goals and Plymouth State University rallied after a slow first period to double up Westfield State University, 6-3, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey game at Amelia Park Ice Arena on Thursday night.
The Owls stormed out to a 3-0 first period lead, but Plymouth State regrouped during the first intermission. The Panthers scored twice in less than four minutes to open the middle stanza, before Lanceleve potted a power play goal to square the game at 3-3 midway through the period.
Lanceleve lit the lamp again less than two minutes into the third to give PSU its first lead and a pair of insurance tallies came later in the period to secure the win.
Plymouth State jumps to 2-2-1 (2-0-0 MASCAC), while Westfield State slips to 2-2-0 (0-1-0 MASCAC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 6, Westfield State 3
- Plymouth State (2-2-1, 2-0-0 MASCAC)
- Westfield State (2-2-0, 0-1-0 MASCAC)
How it Happened:
- Westfield State grabbed the lead less than five minutes into action when a wrist shot on a breakaway snuck over the shoulder of senior goaltender Brendahn Brawley (Morton, Pa.).
- The hosts doubled the lead at the 9:30 mark when a loose puck in front found the backhand of an Owls' skater to make it 2-0 and Westfield State added another with 3:15 left in the first.
- The Panthers regrouped during the first intermission and broke through with a power play goal just 30 seconds into the second. Senior Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) rang the pipe with a wicked wrister at the top of the left circle, but he got the puck back near the corner, skated in along the goal line and went top shelf to make it 3-1.
- Plymouth State cut the margin to 3-2 just over three minutes later when junior Matt Tartaglio (Houston, Texas) skated in on the right side on a breakout before sliding the puck back to the trailer, senior Kyler Harding (Wilmington, N.C.), who blasted a one-timer through the Westfield goalie at the 3:51 mark.
- PSU pulled even with another power play strike at the 12:35 mark when Abbate slipped a perfect pass through all four Westfield State defenders to Lanceleve on the far side, who gathered before tucking a shot just under the crossbar to tie the game.
- Lanceleve was back at it again just 1:50 into the third period when he banged home a rebound to give the Panthers the lead, 4-3, for the first time.
- Brawley sprawled out for a huge save around the five-minute mark to preserve the lead, then came up big again stonewalling the Owls on a 2-on-1 break just two minutes later.
- PSU continued to ride the momentum with sophomore Connor Tait (Boyds, Md.) sniping a shot to the top right corner from the high slot 8:17 into the third period to extend the margin.
- Graduate student Colin Stevens (Concord, N.H.) capped the scoring when he blasted a slapshot from the left circle to the top right corner during a 5-on-3 power play to account for the final score.
By the Numbers:
- Lanceleve added a pair of assists to his ledger to continue his explosive start to the year. He has five goals over the last four games, at least one point in every game this season and leads the Panthers with five goals and nine points.
- Abbate finished with a goal and an assist to give him 40 career goals, while sophomore Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) had a pair of assists.
- Brawley finished with 23 saves to pick up the win.
- PSU outshot the Owls by a 49-26 margin.
- The Panthers went 3-for-5 on the power play while holding Westfield State scoreless in three chances.
- Plymouth State improves to 31-10-1 all time against the Owls, going 5-1-1 over the last seven meetings.
Up Next:
- The Panthers welcome UMass Dartmouth to town on Saturday (Nov. 12) for another MASCAC contest on Alumni Night. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
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