WORCESTER, Mass. – Junior
Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) and freshman
Will Pray (Wheaton, Ill.) both scored twice and #8 Plymouth State University notched five second-period goals as the Panthers roared past Worcester State University, 9-1, in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) opener at Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Arena on Thursday night.
The rematch of last year's MASCAC Tournament finals was close through the opening period as Pray's breakaway goal made it just 2-0 with less than a minute on the clock in the first. PSU seized control in the middle stanza, as the Panthers scored three times in less than four minutes. Seniors
Carson Lanceleve (Stewiacke, Nova Scotia) and
Jeromey Rancourt (Lewiston, Maine) potted short-handed tallies to start the surge, and Stuckless scored his first to make it 5-0 at the 5:57 mark.
After two more second-period scores, Stuckless buried a power play goal early in the third to make it 8-0. The Lancers notched their lone goal with a man-advantage, but Pray capped the scoring two minutes later for the 9-1 final.
Plymouth State opens the year with a 2-0-0 mark (1-0-0 MASCAC), while Worcester State slides to 0-2-0 (0-1-0 MASCAC).
The Basics:
- #8 Plymouth State 9, Worcester State 1
- Plymouth State (2-0-0, 1-0-0 MASCAC)
- Worcester State (0-2-0, 0-1-0 MASCAC)
How it Happened:
- Freshman Severi Sulonen (Turku, Finland) scored his first career goal midway through the opening period.
- With the first period winding down, Pray deflected a pass at the defensive blue line and raced to the puck, beating the Lancers' goalie on a breakaway to make it 2-0.
- Plymouth State put the game away in the first six minutes of the second. Lanceleve and Rancourt both found the back of the net during a penalty kill, and Stuckless slammed home his first of the night at the 5:57 mark for a 5-0 lead.
- Sophomore Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) and junior Connor Tait (Boyds, Md.) added second-period scores as the lead ballooned to 7-0 at the second intermission.
- Stuckless scored on the power play just 3:32 into the third, but Worcester State got the goal back during a man-advantage midway through the stanza to make it 8-1, and Pray closed out the lopsided win two minutes later.
By the Numbers:
- Stuckless and Pray both scored twice, while Sulonen notched a goal and two assists.
- Seven different Panthers found the back of the net, as Tait, Redick, Rancourt and Lanceleve all scored as well.
- Lanceleve and Tait both recorded multi-point games with a goal and an assist.
- Stuckless won 10-of-12 faceoffs, while senior Kalle Andersson (Taby, Sweden) made 24 saves.
- Plymouth State outshot the Lancers by a 72-25 margin.
- PSU improves to 58-11-5 in head-to-head meetings dating back to 1987. The Panthers are unbeaten in the last 13 meetings.
Up Next:
- #8 Plymouth State hosts Babson, which was receiving votes in this week's USCHO.com poll, for the annual Salute the Troops game on Saturday (Nov. 4) at 6:00 p.m.
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