FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Sophomore
Connor Tait (Boyds, Md.) stuffed in a rebound midway through the third period to snap a 3-3 tie and Plymouth State University added a late insurance tally as the Panthers topped Framingham State, 5-3, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey game at Loring Arena on Thursday night.
The Panthers roared out of the gates with a three-goal first period to take a seemingly commanding lead, but Framingham State answered with three goals in the middle stanza to pull even. Freshman
Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) skated in on the left side midway through the third, but his shot was denied by the Rams' goaltender. Tait was there to bang home the rebound and sophomore
Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) would cap the scoring with a redirect goal later in the period to account for the final score.
Plymouth State remains perfect in MASCAC play (5-0-0) and improves to 6-3-1 overall, while Framingham State moves to 3-5-1 and 2-3-1 in conference play.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 5, Framingham State 3
- Plymouth State (6-3-1, 5-0-0 MASCAC)
- Framingham State (3-5-1, 2-3-1 MASCAC)
How it Happened:
- Senior Niks Krollis (Riga, Latvia) got the scoring started just 4:24 into the game when he one-timed a shot from the point off a feed from sophomore DJ Castello (Palm Coast, Fla.).
- PSU doubled its lead at the 13:47 mark as junior Colin Tracy (Bow, N.H.) banged home a rebound on the weakside after the Rams' goaltender was unable to smother a blast from the blue line by senior Ted Austin (Sylvania, Ohio) to make it 2-0.
- Less than a minute later a Framingham turnover left Tait with the puck in the neutral zone and he slid a perfect feed to Redick, who outskated the defense and beat the goalie to make it 3-0 with 5:21 left in the first.
- The Rams got one back 4:06 into the second period during a 2-on-1 break with a quick shot past the glove of senior goaltender Brendahn Brawley (Morton, Pa.) to make it 3-1.
- Ten minutes later Framingham State corralled a long rebound off a pad save and transitioned down ice for another breakaway goal to make it a one-goal game.
- Framingham State pulled even with 2:39 left in the second period when a Rams' skater poked in the puck off a turnover in front of the PSU goal to square the game at 3-3 and the score would remain tied heading into the third period.
- The Panthers regained the lead midway through the final stanza when Redick used a burst of speed to run down the puck. His shot was stuffed on the nearside, but Tait was there to clean up the rebound to put PSU in front with 9:10 remaining.
- PSU added an insurance goal with a power play tally with 2:50 left on the clock when Stuckless camped in front of the goal and redirected a shot from the blue line off the stick of freshman Rider McCallum (Langley, British Columbia).
By the Numbers:
- Redick scored his first career goal and added an assist, while Tait also notched a goal and an assist.
- McCallum had a pair of assists.
- Brawley finished with 20 saves to pick up the win.
- Plymouth State's penalty kill unit was perfect again, holding the Rams scoreless in three power play chances.
- PSU has dominated the all-time series, going 51-12-3 overall with a 25-game unbeaten streak dating back to the 2013-14 season during with the Panthers have gone 24-0-1.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State hits the road again on Saturday (Dec. 3) for another MASCAC tilt. PSU visits Salem State for a 2:00 p.m. clash with the Vikings in a rematch of last year's MASCAC Tournament championship game won by the Panthers, 8-4.
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