PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior
Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) posted a goal and two assists and eight different players scored as Plymouth State University routed Salem State University, 8-1, in a non-conference men's ice hockey game during the annual
Teddy Bear Toss at Hanaway Rink on Saturday night.
Despite being outshot 22-11 in the opening period, it was the Vikings who carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Plymouth State took over from there, however, pouring in eight unanswered goals to pull away for the decisive win.
Senior
Payton Schaly (Orillia, Ontario) tied the game midway through the second with a perfectly placed shot to the top corner, as several thousand stuffed animals were launched onto the ice. The bears will be collected and donated to pediatric patients at Dartmouth Health Children's to provide support and encouragement during the holidays.
Redick put PSU in front just four minutes later with a power-play strike, and junior
David Matousek (Karlovy Vary, Czechia) made it 3-1 with a breakaway finish to the top shelf late in the frame.
The Panthers dominated the third period with five different players finding the back of the net to seal the lopsided victory.
Before the game, special guest Keir McIntire, a Dartmouth Health Children's patient, performed a ceremonial puck drop. Diagnosed with a significant heart murmur at birth, McIntire has undergone two open-heart surgeries. Now an active teenager, he is living the full and joyful life his care team worked tirelessly to protect.
Plymouth State improves to 6-4-0, while Salem State slips to 2-7-1.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 8, Salem State 1
- Plymouth State (6-4-0)
- Salem State (2-7-1)
How it Happened:
- After killing off an early penalty, Plymouth State applied heavy pressure, but the Vikings' goaltender held firm.
- Schaly rang the pipe on a one-timer off a cross-ice feed midway through the period.
- Junior goaltender Connor Strobel (Butler, Pa.) made a key stop after a turnover led to a prime Vikings chance with under six minutes left in the first.
- Salem State opened the scoring with 1:03 remaining in the first, taking a 1-0 lead into the break.
- Schaly evened the game at 1-1 with a top-corner wrister from the slot at 9:25 of the second, prompting thousands of teddy bears to rain onto the ice.
- Redick snapped a turnaround shot inside the right post on the power play at 5:26 to give PSU a 2-1 lead.
- Strobel charged out to blocker away a Salem State breakaway with 3:38 left in the period, and Matousek converted his own breakaway less than two minutes later to make it 3-1.
- Sophomore Luca Rea (Burlington, Ontario) extended the lead early in the third with a falling backhand effort inside the right post.
- Senior Brendan Doyle (Stratham, N.H.) buried a sharp-angle shot just 90 seconds later for a 5-1 advantage.
- Freshman Anthony Alvarado (Stockton, Calif.) made it 6-1 off a quick offensive-zone faceoff win.
- Sophomores Thomas Kaufield (Calgary, Alberta) and Tikhon Ashikhmin (Yekaterinburg, Russia) netted their first goals of the season in the final two minutes to close out the scoring.
By the Numbers:
- Redick moved into the team lead with his sixth goal of the year.
- Ashikhmin, Doyle, Schaly and Kaufield all recorded a goal and an assist.
- Junior Patrick O'Connell (West Chester, Pa.) and freshman Étienne Tremblay-Mathieu (Québec City, Québec) each notched two assists.
- Fifteen different Panthers recorded at least a point.
- Strobel finished with 24 saves in the win.
- Plymouth State dominated the shot totals, 68-25.
- PSU went 1-for-8 on the power play and held Salem State to 0-for-4.
- Redick won 20-of-29 faceoffs in the win.
- Plymouth State now leads the all-time series 36-14-5 and has won 13 straight meetings.
Up Next:
- The Panthers host Anna Maria on Wednesday (Dec. 10) at 6 p.m. in their final game of the fall semester.
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