PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior
Kalle Andersson (Taby, Sweden) made a season-high 38 saves as Plymouth State University blanked the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 6-0, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey game at Hanaway Rink on Saturday night.
Sophomore
Rider McCallum (Langley, British Columbia) gave the Panthers a first period lead and that would prove to be more than enough as Andersson was on top of his game.
PSU scored twice in a 1:17 stretch midway through the second period behind goals from freshman
Severi Sulonen (Turku, Finland) and senior
Jeromey Rancourt (Lewiston, Maine) to extend the margin, and the Panthers put the game away with three third-period tallies.
Plymouth State runs its record to 14-1-2 (11-0-2 MASCAC), while UMass Dartmouth dips to 10-7-0 (8-5-0 MASCAC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 6, UMass Dartmouth 0
- Plymouth State (14-1-2, 11-0-2 MASCAC)
- UMass Dartmouth (10-7-0, 8-5-0 MASCAC)
How it Happened:
- The Corsairs put heavy pressure around the three-minute mark when a shot from the left side rang the post. UMass Dartmouth kept the puck in the zone and Andersson momentarily lost sight of it, but the Panthers' defense blocked a flurry of shots to help keep the game scoreless.
- McCallum broke through 4:52 into the first period. Sulonen received a pass in the slot and found McCallum alone on the far post. His initial shot was gloved down, but McCallum blasted the rebound into the open net for the 1-0 lead.
- Plymouth State extended the margin 8:43 into the second. Senior Carson Lanceleve (Stewiacke, Nova Scotia) flipped a pass from behind the net to Sulonen, whose wrist shot from the top of the right circle found the top right corner.
- The Panthers added another just 1:17 later when Rancourt banged home the rebound after freshman David Matousek (West Chester, Pa.) weaved through the defense and launched a backhanded shot on goal.
- Junior Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) pushed the lead to 4-0 with a power play goal 1:04 into the third with a close-range shot from the far side.
- Junior Connor Tait (Boyds, Md.) got into the action three minutes later as he and sophomore Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) skated in on a 2-on-1. Redick carried the puck down the left side and connected with Tait, who deked the goalie and converted the back-handed shot to make it 5-0.
- PSU capped the scoring on a marker from sophomore Payton Schaly (Orillia, Ontario) with just 14 seconds remaining to account for the final score.
By the Numbers:
- Andersson's 38 saves were a season high. The shutout was the third of his career.
- Sulonen and McCallum each notched a goal and an assist, while Matousek and Redick both chipped in a pair of assists.
- Thirteen different players recorded points for the Panthers.
- Plymouth State held a 43-38 edge in shots.
- PSU went 1-for-5 on the power play, while UMass Dartmouth was 0-for-2.
- The Panthers won 47-of-74 faceoffs (63.5%).
- Plymouth State has won each of the last 13 meetings and is 24-1-1 against the Corsairs over the last 26 matchups.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State hosts Salem State on Thursday (Jan. 25) for a 6:00 p.m. contest.
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