PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior
Brendan Doyle (Stratham, N.H.) potted his 14th goal of the year but eighth-seeded Massachustts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) shocked top-seeded Plymouth State University, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Ice Hockey Tournament at Hanaway Rink on Thursday evening.
MCLA advances to Saturdays semifinal round, while the Panthers will hold out hope for an unlikely at large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
PSU dominated play in the opening period, outshooting the Trailblazers by a 14-2 margin, but MCLA sophomore goaltender Mathew Gover (Atkinson, N.H.) was on top of his game to keep the game scoreless.
The Trailblazers used a power play goal at the 4:11 mark of the second to snag the lead, then doubled the margin with 3:49 left in the period to head into the third with a two-goal advantage.
Plymouth State came out of the locker room on a mission, holding the puck deep in the offensive zone for the vast majority of the final 20 minutes. Doyle stole the puck at the goal line and tucked a shot over Gover's blocker to cut the deficit to 2-1 with roughly nine minutes left in regulation and the Panthers continued to press for the equalizer. Gover denied several close-range bids and MCLA was able to kill off a late penalty to pull off the upset.
Plymouth State falls to 19-7-0, while the Trailblazers improve to 5-19-0.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 1, MCLA 2
- Plymouth State (19-7-0)
- MCLA (5-19-0)
How it Happened:
- Junior Brandon Shantz (San Antonio, Texas) was tested three-plus minutes in off an MCLA offensive zone faceoff win, but he calmly blocked the shot down and PSU cleared the rebound.
- PSU built up zone time during the back half of a power play at the six-minute mark, but Gover was up to the challenge.
- Doyle stole the puck at the blue line and set up freshman Matt Hale (Center Harbor, N.H.) for the game's first prime chance with just over nine minutes still on the clock, but Hale's shot was sticked aside.
- Gover came up big again with three minutes left in the stanza as senior Cam Patton (Bible Hill, Nova Scotia) had a pair of shots on the far side during PSU's second power play, but the game remained scoreless into the first intermission.
- The Trailblazers scored the game's first goal during a power play 4:11 into the second, whipping a wrist shot from the left circle to the top left corner on just their fifth shot of the game.
- The visitors doubled the margin with just under four minutes left in the period when a pass from behind the PSU goal found a skater at the left dot, and his quick wrister snuck inside the far post to make it 2-0.
- Sophomore David Matousek (Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic) had a shorthanded bid during a breakaway chance in the opening two minutes of the third, but his bid to the top shelf was shouldered over the crossbar.
- The Panthers amped up the intensity, peppering MCLA with several close-range shots through the first half of the final stanza but PSU remained unable to break through.
- Shantz made a huge glove save to keep the deficit at two midways through the period and Plymouth State used the momentum to get onto the scoreboard moments later. Sophomore Eddie Mulligan (Lincoln, R.I.) provided a heavy forecheck and an MCLA turnover at the goal line allowed Doyle to snare the puck and lift a shot over the blocker to make it 2-1 with 8:50 left in regulation.
- PSU continued to pressure before going on the power play with three minutes to go. MCLA killed off the penalty, then survived an extra attacker for the final minute of regulation to secure the upset.
By the Numbers:
- Doyle's 14 goals were the third most on the team, giving him 24 points for the year.
- Shantz made 15 saves in the setback.
- Plymouth State outshot the Trailblazers by a 44-17 margin, including 20-2 in the third period.
- PSU went 0-for-4 on the power play, while MCLA finished 1-for-4.
- Plymouth State had won five straight MASCAC Tournament titles.
- The Panthers' last home loss to a MASCAC team came Jan. 26, 2019 – a streak of 59 games.
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