Worcester State Falls to #10 Plymouth State in MASCAC Finals

Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Men's Ice Hockey team traveled up to Plymouth State in a bid to claim the 3rd MASCAC Championship for Worcester State this year, and their first in program history. The Lancers have won a record setting 10 games in the conference for the first time in program history as they hunt for the first MASCAC championship against an undefeated in conference, Plymouth State.

The first period was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams with each having a number of promising opportunities. While the Panthers fired some well placed shots on net, sophomore Jakob Kubik (Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic) wrapped up each shot to keep Plymouth off the scoreboard early in the period. First year Anders Grongstad (Royal Oak, MI), sophomore Martin Dlugolinsky (Stara Lubovna, Slovakia)  and senior Mikey Wilson (Alexandria, VA) were dominant on the attack for the Lancers. With eight and half to go, the Lancers had a near scoring opportunity as Dlugolinsky attempted to tuck the puck around Plymouth's goalie Brendahn Brawley as he stepped away from the net, but his shot skidded just wide of the cage. 

With six minutes remaining in the first period the Panthers snuck the puck past Kubik with a goal by Matt Tartaglio to start the scoring. Less the a minute later the Lancers tied the game up with a goal by first year sophomore Shane Prifrel (Inver Grove Heights, MN) off a dish by junior Deiter Stange (Niles, IL) and senior Brendan Ronan (Saugus, MA) against the the #10 ranked Plymouth. The Panthers and Lancers traded ends of the ice for the remainder of the period in a bid to gain control going into the first intermission but both teams moved into the break tied at 1-1.

The Panthers and Lancers kicked off the second period in Hanaway Rink looking to find the net, giving their team the edge in the game. Worcester State was quick to send a shot toward the cage, but Plymouth knocked the opening salvos away. The Lancers secured the first power play of the game, early in the second period, off a tripping penalty. Though there were a number of near misses, the Lancers ended the man-advantage still tied with Plymouth. With just 7 minutes down in the first, the Panthers were able to find their own momentum in contrast to an offensive surge from Worcester, capitalizing on a 2 on 1 attack, to lob a shot past Kubik, reclaiming the lead. Worcester was quick to switch back to attack, with Kubik even getting involved in the transition as he assisted in working the puck. 

The Lancers jumped a little too aggressively, dropping their first penalty to the Panthers for a power play, which was quickly flipped back to even, when the Panthers collected a hooking penalty to make it 4-on-4. Neither team was able to capitalize on the brief power play opportunities, leaving the Panthers in the lead with eight minutes to go in the period. Both teams worked hard for the next couple of minutes on the attack, with the Lancers nearly squaring the game up, but the Panthers grabbed a loose puck to work it down the ice to capitalize on a errant Kubik pass to jump ahead by 2. The Lancers instantly felt the change in momentum in the rink, forcing themselves to refocus for the final minutes in the seconds to cut down the lead. Gronstad had a number of solid scoring opportunities, but some late tips knocked the shots just wide of the cage and prevented the Lancers from adding a goal to their tally. In the final two minutes Dante Moretti went one-on-one with Kubik and chipped a shot just over his shoulder into the top corner to push the Panthers ahead 4-1. 

With the final 20 minutes in regulation on the clock, the Lancers went to work building towards a rally in the third. Worcester State started strong, with a number of solid opportunities, but the Panthers knocked the shots away to hold onto their lead. Ronan and Prifrel were in a constant effort at the start of the third to steal a goal back from the Panthers who were settled in with a defensive formation to ensure a limited number of opportunities for the Lancers. A penalty, halfway through the final period of regulation, by the Panthers on a tripping penalty gave the Lancers just their second power play opportunity of the game. The Lancers nearly had a scoring opportunity, when a shot knocked off Brawley's helmet during the man-up period, but were unable to secure the goal leaving them 0-2 in power play opportunities. A goal by Plymouth's Will Reddick off a turnover by the Lancers defense, at the conclusion of the power play, forced the Lancers into an urgent situation as Plymouth moved ahead 5-1. Worcester State sent the puck on the Panthers cage one after the other in the remaining moments. 

A concurrent penalty called on senior Kevin Drevitch (Oxford, NJ) and Plymouth State's Stuckless brough two minutes of 4-on-4 to the ice, with each team attempting to prevent an from the situation. As the penalties timed out, the Panthers remained ahead by four, and Lancers amped up the urgency to chip away at their lead. Dlugolinsky got one back for the Lancers off a crossing pass from junior Jason Lee (Thousand Oaks, CA) with three and half remaining, forcing the lead down to three, as the Lancers began an offensive onslaught to find the equalizers.  A late penalty in the final minute for the Panthers provided the Lancer a final power play opportunity to grab the needed goals and force extra time. Worcester State worked to find the back of the net, but Plymouth's defense tightened up on the ice to wrap up the game 5-2.

Kubik was dominant in net all game making 30 of 35 saves for the Lancers while also being a versatile defender the Lancers, The Panthers Brawley ended the night with 20 of 22 saves. 

Worcester State ends their season at 14-12-1 (12-5-1), securing the first 10+ MASCAC win season in program history. Plymouth State moves ahead with a 22-3-1 (18-0) record as they await their NCAA destination Monday at 10am.