Salem State Powers Past Worcester State 10-1

Salem State 10, Worcester State 1

Box Score  |  MASCAC Ice Hockey Tournament Bracket 

Salem, MA --- Salem State freshman Dan Rowland (Waltham, MA) and junior Alex Molnar (Nitra, Slovakia) each tallied two goals apiece to help power the Vikings to a 10-1 victory over Worcester State on Saturday afternoon in MASCAC men’s ice hockey action.

With the setback, the Lancers (5-17-2, 3-13-2) have secured the sixth seed in this week’s MASCAC Ice Hockey tournament and they will play #3 Plymouth State on the road on Tuesday at 6 PM. Should WSC advance, they will take on second-seeded Salem State (13-8-4, 11-3-4), who received a first round bye.

The Vikings opened the game with four goals in the first period. Rowland added the first 19 seconds into the game for his first collegiate goal and then Molnar tallied the eventual game-winner at 2:09. Salem State scored their other two goals with the extra-man advantage.

The second period would see SSC extend their lead early to 5-0 in the frame on a goal by senior Kevin Hughes (Natick MA) before junior Billy O’Neill (Strafford, PA) broke the shutout on assists by sophomore’s Nick Asterito (Philadelphia, PA) and Andrew Brady (Oreland, MA) at 12:04.

Salem State broke the game wide open as they exploded for five third-period goals. Rowland started the rally at 7:58, senior Chris MacInnis (Waltham, MA) tacked on his 13th goal of the year two minutes later and Molnar notched his second marker of the match and season at 12:51.

The Vikings were 3-for-6 in power plays while Worcester State was 0-for-1 with their lone opportunity coming in the second period. Salem State also held a 44-21 edge in shots on goal.

Freshman Sam Avoine (Ste-Perpetue, Quebec) played 47:30 out of a possible 60 minutes before he gave way to first-year Andrew Knight (Calgary, Alberta) and junior Jacob Ridgeway (Franklin, MA) who combined for three saves. Avoine improved his record to 7-4-2 as he recorded 17 saves.

Senior Andrew Evans (Cromwell, CT) shouldered the loss as he played the first six minutes stopping six shots before he was finished off by freshman TJ Cuneo (Woodridge, VA) who collected 29 saves.

The setback maintained a streak of 18 games in which the Lancers have scored at least one goal. They were shutout 3-0 on December 1 against Stonehill and have tallied a marker in every contest since.