PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The line of senior
Emily DeSimone (Norwood, Mass.) and sophomores
Laura Castronova (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and
Emily Gerrie (Littleton, Colo.) combined for four goals and six assists to lead Plymouth State University to a 7-0 win over Framingham State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's ice hockey game at Hanaway Rink on Tuesday afternoon.
With the win, Plymouth State assures itself of a top two seed and first round bye for the upcoming MASCAC Tournament. The Panthers will host a semifinal game a week from Friday (Feb. 28) with the title game taking place on Mar. 7.
Plymouth State holds a one-point lead over Worcester State in the league standings, with the two teams set to square off in the regular season finale on Friday (Feb. 21). The Panthers will capture the regular season title and top seed for the tournament with a regulation win or any overtime result.
DeSimone opened the scoring late in the first period and the DeSimone, Castronova, Gerrie line struck for a pair of goals less than four minutes apart midway through the second. PSU continued the onslaught with a pair of 5-on-3 power play goals to head into the third with a 5-0 lead, and the Panthers tacked on two more in the final stanza.
DeSimone finished with a goal and three assists, while Castronova (two goals, one assist) and Gerrie (one goal, two assists) rounded out the high-scoring line. Senior
Robyn Grant (Airdrie, Alberta) chipped in a pair of goals, while three other skaters added multi-point games.
Sophomore
Teagan Wilson (Salisbury, Mass.) made 14 stops to pick up her second shutout of the year.
Plymouth State moves to 16-7-1 (11-2-1 MASCAC), while the Rams fall to 0-21-0 (0-14-0 MASCAC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 7, Framingham State 0
- Plymouth State (16-7-1, 11-2-1 MASCAC)
- Framingham State (0-21-0, 0-14-0 MASCAC)
How it Happened:
- Wilson was tested during a 2-on-1 break midway through the opening period, but she kicked the puck aside.
- Senior Brenna Smith (Midfield, Mass.) tied up a Framingham State skater in the corner and DeSimone snagged the loose puck and went the length of the ice before firing a wrist shot from the right circle that beat the Rams' goaltender to the stick side with 3:38 left in the first and the Panthers would maintain the advantage into intermission.
- Framingham State had a good chance off an offensive zone faceoff win seven minutes into the second, but Wilson blockered the shot out of harm's way.
- The Panthers doubled the margin just under two minutes later. DeSimone slipped a perfect feed to Gerrie in the slot. Her one-timer was kicked aside, but Castronova snared the rebound and blasted a shot inside the left post for the 2-0 advantage.
- Wilson made a fantastic glove save during a Rams' power play with nine minutes left in the period and the Panthers used the momentum to extend the lead. The DeSimone, Gerrie, Castronova line teamed up again, with Castronova converting a feed from Gerrie in the slot to make it 3-0 with 7:56 on the clock.
- PSU added another during a 5-on-3 power play just over two minutes later when Grant deposited the rebound of her own shot in the top left corner for a 4-0 advantage with 5:27 before the intermission.
- The Panthers went back on a 5-on-3 power play again with just 80 seconds left in the period and Gerrie backhanded a rebound into the open net as PSU took a 5-0 lead into the third period.
- Plymouth State's power play converted for the third time at the 7:30 mark of the final stanza. Grant stuffed in a rebound with traffic in front as the lead grew to 6-0.
- Graduate student Lauren McNeil (Ottawa, Ontario) capped the scoring three minutes later with a perfect snipe from the left circle to the top right corner.
By the Numbers:
- Junior Katie Porrello (Milford, Conn.) posted a pair of assists. She and Gerrie both tied the team record for assists in a season with 13.
- Porrello is just two points shy of the record for points in a season.
- Sophomore Jamie Steinmetz (Madison, Wis.) added two assists, while McNeil also had a multipoint game with a goal and a helper.
- Plymouth State matched the program record for team goals in a season with 64.
- The Panthers went 3-for-8 on the power play, while holding the Rams scoreless in three chances.
- PSU outshot Framingham State by a 61-14 margin.
- The Panthers won 55-of-80 faceoffs (68.8%), with DeSimone leading the way with 19 wins on 22 attempts.
- The Panthers won the previous two meetings this season, 4-0 and 4-2.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State heads to Worcester State for a de facto regular season title game on Friday (Feb. 21). Puck drop is set for 6:10 p.m. at Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center.
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