PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Head coach
Craig Russell became the Plymouth State University men's ice hockey all-time wins leader as the Panthers flew past Framingham State University, 6-1, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey game at Hanaway Rink on Saturday night.
Plymouth State scored in the opening minute and never looked back, roaring to a 10th-straight win. Now in his 13th season, Russell owns a career record of 209-86-28 (.690) to become the program's winningest coach, surpassing Dave Webster (208-173-16), who led the program for a 20-year stint from 1976-96.
The 14th-ranked Panthers scored the game's first three goals, with Framingham State only sticking around due to PSU being sent to the box with regularity. Plymouth State racked up eight penalties for 27 minutes over the first two periods before going to the box just once in the third. The hosts scored three more times in the final stanza to account for the final score.
Plymouth State improves to 14-3-1 and runs its MASCAC record to 11-0-0, while Framingham State falls to 4-12-1 and 3-8-1 in the MASCAC.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 6, Framingham State 1
- Plymouth State (14-3-1, 11-0-0 MASCAC)
- Framingham State (4-12-1, 3-8-1 MASCAC)
How it Happened:
- Senior Niks Krollis (Riga, Latvia) got the scoring started just 54 seconds into the game when he received a pass from classmate Ted Austin (Sylvania, Ohio) across the blue line before snapping off a wrist shot that found the back of the net for the early lead.
- PSU doubled its lead with 3:04 left in the frame when freshman Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) skated in from the left corner before feeding sophomore Connor Tait (Boyds, Md.) alone on the far post for the easy goal.
- Redick notched a goal of his own just 69 seconds into the second period. With the Framingham State goaltender well out of the net, Tait flipped a pass behind the goal and Redick converted into the open frame to make it 3-0.
- Framingham State cut into the margin with a power play goal with 4:28 left in the period to trim the lead to 3-1.
- Plymouth State was able to limit the penalties in the third period, with freshman Payton Schaly (Orillia, Ontario) restoring the three-goal margin at the 6:03 mark.
- Krollis stole a pass in the zone on a power play and whipped a pass to sophomore Cameron Patton (Bible Hill, Nova Scotia) at the back door, whose one-timer made it 5-1, and classmate Dante Moretti (Powell, Ohio) capped the scoring with 31 seconds left on the clock to account for the final score.
By the Numbers:
- Tait had his first three-point game of the year, finishing with a goal and two assists, while Redick, Krollis and Patton each finished with a goal and a helper.
- Senior Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) notched an assist for his 96th career point.
- Plymouth State outshot the Rams by a 53-26 margin.
- The Panthers dominated the faceoff circle, winning 50-of-78 draws.
- Senior Brendahn Brawley (Morton, Pa.) made 25 stops to pick up the victory.
- PSU went 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Rams converted 1-of-8 chances. Framingham State had nearly 13 minutes with the skater-advantage, though, while the Panthers totaled 5:50 of power play time.
- Plymouth State has dominated the all-time matchup, going 56-11-5 since first meeting in 1987. The Panthers are unbeaten (10-0-1) over the last 11 meetings.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State stays at home on Thursday (Jan. 26) to host Salem State in another MASCAC clash. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.
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