PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Five different skaters scored two goals apiece and senior
Donte' DiPonio (Trenton, Mich.) had a career high four assists as Plymouth State University blasted the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 10-1, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey game at Hanaway Rink on Saturday evening.
Senior
Connor Tait (Boyds, Md.) scored twice in a four-minute span as the Panthers built a 3-0 lead in the first period. Sophomore
Will Pray (Prague, Czech Republic) buried a pair of goals in the second period as PSU doubled the margin to 6-0 while outshooting the Corsairs by a 43-7 margin through two frames.
Junior
Brendan Doyle (Stratham, N.H.) added a pair of third-period goals, while freshmen
Tikhon Ashikhmin (Yekaterinburg, Russia) and
Matt Hale (Center Harbor, N.H.) each potted their second of the night during the final stanza to run the lead to double digits, 10-0, before UMass Dartmouth spoiled the shutout with a tally with just over five minutes to play.
Plymouth State was playing in a Morgan's Message game. Morgan's Message aims to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics.
Plymouth State improves to 15-5-0 (12-1-0 MASCAC), while the Corsairs fall to 9-9-1 (6-5-1 MASCAC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 10, UMass Dartmouth 1
- Plymouth State (15-5-0, 12-1-0 MASCAC)
- UMass Dartmouth (9-9-1, 6-5-1 MASCAC)
How it Happened:
- The Panthers opened the scoring at the 7:19 mark of the opening period when graduate student Colin Tracy (Bow, N.H.) flipped the puck into the neutral zone for sophomore David Matousek (Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic). Matousek and Tait skated in for a 2-on-1 and Tait slipped a one-timer past the goalie for the easy goal.
- Ashikhmin cleaned up the rebound following a blast from junior Payton Schaly (Orillia, Ontario) at the 10:32 mark and junior Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) set up Tait during another 2-on-1 breakaway 29 seconds later to push the lead to 3-0.
- PSU extended the margin to 4-0 just over five minutes into the second when Pray fired a wrist shot from the left side.
- Junior Lucas Jones (Calgary, Alberta) went the length of the ice and around the UMD goal before slipping the puck to Hale for the easy tap in with 5:43 left in the middle stanza.
- Pray went bar down from the slot for his second of the night as the advantage ballooned to 6-0 with 2:25 left in the second.
- Ashikhmin potted his second of the evening when he rifled a wrister from the right circle during a breakaway at the 3:30 mark of the third and Doyle made it an 8-0 game just over three minutes later when Hale's stretch pass sent him in all alone.
- Hale added his second of the game with 11 minutes left on the clock when he backhanded in a rebound in front of the net and Doyle's second of the night came on another breakout chance off a neutral zone faceoff win with 7:54 left on the clock.
- UMass Dartmouth spoiled the shutout bid with a rebound goal with just over five minutes remaining.
By the Numbers:
- DiPonio added a game-high five blocked shots to his four assists. He finished a +5 for the game.
- Doyle and Hale each added an assist to their scorelines to finish with three-point games.
- Tracy, Matousek, Schaly and senior Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) all registered two assists.
- Junior Brandon Shantz (San Antonio, Texas) made 17 saves for the Panthers.
- Sophomore Koby Howat (Honey Brook, Pa.) dominated the faceoff circle, winning 16-of-21 draws.
- All three UMass Dartmouth goaltenders surrendered goals.
- Plymouth State owned a 58-18 advantage in shots.
- The ten-goal outburst was the team's most since a 10-2 win over MCLA just over a year ago.
- Plymouth State has won 16-straight matchups and is 30-3-1 against the Corsairs since the 2013-14 season.
Up Next:
- The Panthers head to Westfield State on Thursday (Feb. 6) for a league game with the Owls. Puck drop is set for 7:35 p.m.
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