Ice Hockey Eliminated from MASCAC Tournament with 3-1 Semifinal Loss at Salem State

Salem, Mass. – The fourth seed Framingham State University ice hockey team saw their season come to end with a 3-1 loss at top seed Salem State University this evening in one semifinal of the 2014 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) ice hockey championship at Rockett Arena.

With the victory the Vikings (15-9-2) advance to the tournament finals on Saturday afternoon when they host second seed Plymouth State who defeated Westfield State University in the other semifinal earlier this evening.  The Vikings are making their fourth championship game appearance in five years.

Framingham State (11-11-4) came into the tournament riding the play of first team All-MASCAC senior goaltender Nick Cafrelli (San Jose, CA). Cafrelli was up to the challenge, thwarting a Salem State scoring attempt as the Rams struck for the first goal of the night. Taking advantage of a power-play opportunity, senior forward Eric Ward (Haverhill, Mass.) made a move towards the net and placed a back hander into the top right corner of the net for an early 1-0 for the visitors just over six minutes into the opening frame.

The Vikings tied the game midway through the period, when Gabriel Cromp's (Montreal, Quebec) shot deflected off a defender and found the back of the cage to tie the score at 1-1.

The teams remained tied entering the second with Salem State dominating play in the period as they outshot the Rams 10-4.  Cafrelli kept the game tied by making multiple doorstep saves to keep the score tied at 1-1 after two.

The Vikings continued to dominate the puck in the third and finally broke through for the game-winner from Brandon Platt (Pittsburgh, PA) at the 11:03.  The Vikings took their first lead of the night and maintained the advantage for the remainder of the game. The Vikings continued to pressure Cafrelli, racking up 17 shots in the period compared to just five for the Rams. Cromp put the game out of reach with his second goal of the night with just over three minutes remaining that made the score 3-1.

Salem State held a 37-14 edge in shots for the game, including a 17-5 edge in the deciding period.  Cafrelli finished the game with 34 stops for the Rams.

The Vikings connected on just one of their seven opportunities with the man advantage, while the Rams were 1-for-1 on the power play. 

Salem State goaltender Ryan Sutliffe (Las Vegas, NV) was solid in goal, making 13 stops including a couple of huge stops while the game was still tied to give Salem State.

Release courtesy of SSU Sports Information.