SALEM, Mass. – Senior
Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) had a hat trick and added an assist as Plymouth State University sank Salem State University, 7-3, to secure an unbeaten run through the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey schedule at Rockett Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Plymouth State matches the program record for wins in a season, improving to 21-3-1 overall, while posting the MASCAC's first unbeaten run (18-0-0) through the league schedule since readopting the sport for the 2008-09 season. The Panthers have won 17 straight games.
Abbate moves into a tie for eighth place on the all-time scoring leaders list with 111 career points behind 52 goals and 59 assists.
The 11th-ranked Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead with Abbate converting twice in the frame. Senior
Niks Krollis (Riga, Latvia) scored to open the second period, giving PSU seven players with 20-plus points on the year, before Abbate completed the hat trick later in the period. The Vikings scored back-to-back goals to pull within 5-3, but Plymouth State thwarted any comeback attempt with unanswered goals by junior
Carson Lanceleve (Stewiacke, Nova Scotia) and freshman
Payton Schaly (Orillia, Ontario) to secure the history-making win.
Top-seeded Plymouth State will host the winner fourth-seeded Westfield State and fifth-seeded UMass Dartmouth in a semifinal game on Saturday (Feb. 25) at 6:00 p.m. Salem State drops to 7-18-0 and 5-13-0 in conference action.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 7, Salem State 3
- Plymouth State (21-3-1, 18-0-0 MASCAC)
- Salem State (7-18-0, 5-13-0 MASCAC)
How it Happened:
- Plymouth State got on the board at the 6:30 mark of the opening period when freshman Rider McCallum (Langley, British Columbia) fired a pass from behind the Salem State goal to Schaly in the slot for a one-timer.
- PSU extended the advantage at 12:08 when Abbate stole the puck along the nearside boards. He skated into the high slot and whipped a shot off the pipe and in to make it 2-0.
- Abbate struck again five minutes later to push the lead to 3-0. Abbate made a backdoor cut to the crease and sophomore Anton Jellvik (Taby, Sweden) hit him in stride. Abbate collected the pass, deked the goaltender and finished high to the stick side with 2:48 left in the frame.
- PSU added to the lead just 1:03 into the second when Krollis buried a one-timer after Abbate's pass through the slot.
- Salem State got one back with a power play strike to cut the deficit to 4-1, but Abbate completed the hat trick with a power play tally of his own with 7:13 left in the period. Sophomore Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) skated in on goal from the left side before finding Abbate on the weakside, who converted the low angle shot to restore the four-goal lead.
- The Vikings notched another power play goal with 2:50 left in the period to trail 5-2 heading into the third.
- Salem State attempted to make a game of it, scoring midway through the third to pull within 5-3.
- Lanceleve tucked a shot from the left circle inside the near post during a power play with 8:35 remaining to extend the gap to 6-3 and Schaly capped the scoring with his second of the night at the 18:22 mark when he fired a shot to the top right corner.
By the Numbers:
- Abbate finished the regular season with 13 goals and 22 assists for a league-best 35 points.
- Lanceleve notched a goal and an assist for 33 points on the year, while Schaly's two tallies give him ten for the season.
- McCallum handed out three assists in the win, with junior Jeromey Rancourt (Lewiston, Maine) added a pair of helpers.
- Plymouth State went 2-for-5 on the power play, while limiting the Vikings to just 2-of-12.
- Senior Brendahn Brawley (Morton, Pa.) improved to 20-2-1 after making 31 saves.
- PSU has won seven straight against Salem State and improves to 14-1-2 over the last six seasons.
Up Next:
- Top-seeded Plymouth State will host a MASCAC Tournament semifinal game next Saturday (Feb. 25). The Panthers will square off against the winner of fourth-seeded Westfield State and fifth-seeded UMass Dartmouth, who battle one another in Thursday's (Feb. 23) first round matchup.
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