Plymouth State Blanks Ice Hockey, 3-0
Framingham, Mass. – Freshman forward Mike Economos (Crystal Lake, IL) tallied a goal and an assist as the Plymouth State University ice hockey team defeated the Framingham State University Rams 3-0 this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at Framingham's Loring Arena.
With the win the Panthers improve to 8-10 on the year and 6-5 in the conference, while the Rams are now 7-8-3 overall and 5-5-2 in the MASCAC. The Rams and the Panthers are now tied for third in the conference standings with 12 points apiece.
Economos put the Panthers up for good in the closing minute of the first period. Freshman Erik Strom (Gothenburg, Sweden) sent a pass from the point to Economos on the wing and he snapped off a wrist shot for the power play goal at 19:31. Less than 20 seconds later Plymouth had a chance to extend the lead when freshman Ryan Callahan (Londonderry, NH) intercepted a pass from a Ram defender in front of the net. Callahan's shot hit off the post as time expired in the frame.
Plymouth State tacked on a pair of goals in the second to secure the victory. Just under two minutes into the frame, Economos and freshman Dan Dupell (Collegeville, PA) worked the puck behind the net. Dupell then hit sophomore Tieg Alward (Vail, CO) with a pass in front of the net and Alward flipped it home for his second of the year. Freshman Ian McGilvrey (Omaha, NE) capped the evening's scoring with his goal at 12:55 of the second.
Senior forward Tom Tracy (Wakefield, Mass.) had a chance to get the Rams on the board in the waning minutes of the second as he used some fancy stick work to get open in front of the net and fire a shot. Tracy's bid was saved by PSU netminder Gordon Ceasar (Oak Park, CA), but senior Bo Driscoll (Chelmsford, Mass.) was there for the rebound firing a shot that deflected off the post.
The Rams best chance to get on the board in the third period came when they were skating with a 5-on-3 advantage for a two minute span. Juniors Dylan Cosford (Windsor, Ontario) and Ryan McDonald (Anchorage, AK) and senior Daniel Miressi (Monroe, Conn.) all had good looks at the net, but Ceasar came up with the saves.
The Panthers held a slight 39-34 edge in shots for the game and connected on 1-of-4 with the man advantage, while the Rams finished the night 0-for-8 on the power play. Ceasar recorded the shutout victory making 34 stops, while senior Nick Cafrelli (San Jose, CA) picked up 36 in a losing effort for the Rams.
The Rams are idle until next Thursday when they host Westfield State at 7:30 p.m., while the Panthers are back in action on Saturday evening at Westfield State at 5:35 p.m.