UMass Dartmouth Blanks Ice Hockey, 3-0, In MASCAC Opener

Auburn, MA --- UMass Dartmouth senior Ben Vandervies (Hanna, Alberta/Golden Rockets) stopped all 34 shots he saw on net as he collected his first career shutout to help lift the Corsairs to a 3-0 victory over Worcester State in MASCAC men's ice hockey action this evening at Horgan Memorial Rink.

UMass Dartmouth (1-1, 1-0 MASCAC) wasted no time in building up an early 3-0 lead as the visitors held the 21-11 edge in shots after the first period.

Sophomore Casey Skolnik (Ashland, OR/Iron Range Ironheads) potted his first marker of the campaign 2:58 into the contest before classmate Connor Clement (Danvers, MA/Pingree) chipped in with this first of the year just nine ticks later.

Freshman Yury Sokayev (Staten Island, NY/New York Applecore) followed with his first collegiate tally at the 3:56 mark to finish off the outburst for the Corsairs.

After pulling sophomore starting netminder Salvatore Tecci (Franklin, MA/Long Beach Bombers), the Lancers (3-1, 0-1 MASCAC) went with second-year teammate Drew Case (Plano, TX/Northern Cyclones), who kept the visitors off the scoreboard with 56 minutes of scoreless ice hockey.

The effort by Case helped the Lancers outshot their opponents 23-22 in the final two frames.

Junior Stephen Rock (Tulsa, OK/Idaho Jr. Steelheads) had a good look at the top of the point with 10 minutes left in the second, but he was denied by Vandervies.

UMass Dartmouth also had a solid chance three minutes later when third-year Shaun Walters (Plymouth, MI/Rochester Ice Hawks) was open in front of the net, however, Case covered up the shot right away to preserve the score. 

Worcester State had another opportunity with 15:00 on the clock in the final frame. Junior Andrew Bates (Marblehead, MA/Boston Jr. Bulldogs) tried to hit freshman Alex Dewitz (Oronco, MN/Helena Bighorns) in stride on the right side of the net, but Dewitz couldn't coral the puck and put a shot in the open crease. 

Case had to made two brilliant back-to-back stops with 7:30 left in regulation on bids by senior Greg Girtatos (Tyngsboro, MA/Bishop Guerin) who put a pair of shots on goal.

The Lancers did not take advantage of two power play opportunities in the final 10 minutes of regulation as they were 0-for-3 with the extra man on the ice. UMD was 0-for-2 on the power play. 

UMass Dartmouth finished with the 43-34 lead in shots and Case turned aside all 37 attempts he saw between the pipes.

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