SALEM, Mass. – Sophomore
Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) had a score and two assists to help Plymouth State University to a dominant 6-2 win over Salem State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey game at Rockett Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers were firing on all cylinders to start the game when senior
Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) sniped an incredible shot through a slim gap between the Vikings' goaltender and the right post, with Stuckless and junior
Carson Lanceleve (Stewiacke, Nova Scotia) picking up assists.
Stuckless placed a perfect pass to freshman
Rider McCallum (Langley, British Columbia), who smashed a shot straight to the back of the net to extend the lead to 2-0. After Salem State responded, the Panthers began to pull away with goals by freshman
Payton Schaly (Orillia, Ontario) and Stuckless to make it a 4-1 advantage.
Salem State put up another score before the Panthers slammed the door with two final goals to wrap up the 6-2 win.
Plymouth State improves to 7-3-1 and remains unbeaten in conference action (6-0-0 MASCAC), while Salem State drops to 1-7-0 and 0-6-0 in conference action.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 6, Salem State 2
- Plymouth State (7-3-1, 6-0-0 MASCAC)
- Salem State (1-7-0, 0-6-0 MASCAC)
How it Happened:
- After the Panthers began the game with a barrage of shots, Abbate snagged the first score of the game during a power play chance with an impressive snipe to the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
- The Vikings mounted an assault on freshman goaltender Brandon Shantz (San Antonio, Texas) to try to respond to the early score, but Shantz held strong with multiple saves to keep them in check.
- Stuckless teamed up with McCallum to help the Panthers bump their lead to 2-0.
- Salem State was able to tally a goal in response when they took control on their power play opportunity and scored to cut the deficit to 2-1 entering the second period.
- The Panthers were dominant once again to begin the middle stanza with another score by Schaly when he snuck in the goal with the help of junior Jeromey Rancourt (Lewiston, Maine) in a 4-on-2 situation to make it 3-1.
- Stuckless continued his phenomenal gameplay with a goal of his own on the Panthers third power play of the period with a long shot through the goalie's legs, but the Vikings answered with a tally of their own to head into the final frame trailing 4-2.
- Sophomore Connor Tait (Boyds, Md.) opened the third quickly as he took a shot and scored a shorthanded goal with a great pass from sophomore Anton Jellvik (Taby, Sweden).
- Tait later teamed up with Jellvik to give junior Colin Tracy (Bow, N.H.) a chance and Tracy punched in the finish blow as the game ended 6-2.
By the Numbers:
- Stuckless notched his league-leading seventh goal of the season. He is tied with Lanceleve with a MASCAC-best 14 points.
- The Panthers narrowly outshot the Vikings, 47-44.
- Shantz tallied 42 saves to earn his first career win.
- Plymouth State converted on 2-of-6 power play chances while the Vikings managed just 1-of-9.
- Plymouth State has held the upper hand in the series in recent years, improving to 12-1-2 against the Vikings since the 2017-18 season. PSU leads the all-time series, 28-14-5.
Up Next:
- The Panthers host Salve Regina in non-conference action on Wednesday (Dec. 7). Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m.
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