Ice Hockey Edged by Salem State
Framingham, Mass. – The Salem State University ice hockey team used four second period goals to defeat the Framingham State University Rams 5-4 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) ice hockey contest at Loring Arena.
With the win, the Vikings improve to 12-11-1 on the season and 9-7-1 in the MASCAC, while the Rams fall to 2-18-2 on the year and 0-14-2 in the MASCAC.
Sophomore Brendan McCarron (Millbury, Mass.) collected three points in the game for the Rams on a goal and a pair of assists, while classmate Ryan McDonald (Anchorage, AK) and junior Daniel Miressi (Monroe, Conn.) each picked up two on a goal and a helper.
The Vikings were led by senior Brian Hanafin (Burlington, Mass.) who picked up three assists in the game, while junior Mark Macdonald (Norwell, Mass.) scored a pair of goals. Senior Derek Crocker (Wakefield, Mass.) and classmate Matt Kenline (Yarmouth, Mass.) picked up a pair of points apiece on a goal and an assist.
Salem State took a 1-0 lead midway through the first as Hanafin fired a shot from just inside the blue line that Crocker deflected into the back of the net for his 4th of the season.
The Vikings would maintain the 1-0 advantage until the opening minutes of the second period when they erupted for a pair of goals in the first 1:06 of the frame. Macdonald extended the lead to 2-0 when he knocked home a rebound just 44 seconds in and Kristofer Faric (Whitby, ON) converted a breakaway at just 22 seconds later to push the lead to 3-0.
The Rams got one back at 4:27 of the second as McCarron fed Miressi a pass from behind the goal and Miressi slapped it home for his 14th goal of the season. Salem answered with a Kenline power play tally just over a minute later to push the lead back to three.
The Rams would answer with a pair of goals just over a minute apart themselves to cut the deficit to 5-3 after two. McCarron hit McDonald with a centering pass and McDonald found the back of the goal for his team-leading 16th of the season at 10:17. Just over a minute later sophomore Dylan Cosford (Windsor, ON) carried the puck down the ice into the offensive zone and fed a pass back to McCarron who converted for his 4th goal of the year.
The Rams would cut the deficit to one (5-4) in the opening minutes of the third as junior Tom Tracy (Wakefield, Mass.) scored, but that was as close as they would get as the Rams had just five shots on goal in the final period.
Junior Nick Cafrelli (San Jose, CA) made 45 saves for the Rams, but was tagged with the loss. Sophomore Ed Fritz (Seal Beach, CA) secured the victory for the Vikings by making 26 stops on the night.
The Rams return to action on Monday night when they play Worcester State on the road at 6 p.m. in a game that was originally scheduled to be played last weekend but was postponed by the blizzard. The Vikings close the regular season on Tuesday when they travel to Worcester State at 5:30 p.m.