Late Goal Leads Plymouth to 3-2 Win Over Ice Hockey
Plymouth, N.H. – Plymouth State sophomore Drake Longaker (San Jose, Calif.) scored with less than two minutes to play in regulation to break a 2-2 tie and lead the Plymouth State University men's ice hockey team to a 3-2 win over Framingham State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) game Thursday night at Hanaway Rink on Scouts Night.
Longaker cut into the middle to receive a pass from junior Ludvig Steenberg (Stockholm, Sweden) from behind the Framingham goal, then ripped a wrist shot to the bottom right corner to give PSU a 3-2 lead with just 1:49 remaining.
With the victory the Panthers have now won six straight and 10 consecutive league games to improve to 14-3-1 (10-1-0 MASCAC) and open up a seven-point lead in the conference standings. Framingham drops to 3-12-2 and 2-8-0 in MASCAC action.
The Panthers came out strong in the opening period as junior Matt Volonnino (Hackettstown, N.J.) put the hosts up 1-0 just 1:19 into the game. The forward took a pass from Longaker in the PSU defensive zone, then skated up the left side before cutting into the middle and firing a wrist shot high to the glove side.
Framingham evened the score with a power play strike 4:55 into the second period. Senior Derek Ridgway (Franklin, Mass.) flipped a wrist shot from the top of the left circle to the back post and the puck deflected off the skate of freshman Brandon Hamner (Waltham, Mass.) for his fifth goal of the season.
Plymouth regained the lead less than four minutes later when Volonnino struck again. After collecting a pass at center ice from junior Ryan Stevens (Colleyville, Texas), Volonnino skated in and his wrist shot snuck into the top left corner. PSU looked for an insurance marker, but junior goalkeeper Adam Calabrese (Philadelphia, Penn.) was able to keep the Rams within one.
FSU tied the game once again 7:10 into the third frame. Off a faceoff win in the offensive zone, senior Jake McKinnon (Framingham, Mass.) sniped a wrist shot just under the glove of Panther sophomore goalie Andreas Pettersson (Trollhattan, Sweden) to knot the score at 2-2, setting up Longaker's late game heroics.
Volonnino's two goals give him a team-best 12 on the season, while Stevens picked up his 19th assist. Longaker finished with a goal and an assist.
Calabrese was the hard luck loser for the Rams, finishing with 38 saves but falling to 1-3-0, while Pettersson picked up his second win of the year (2-0-0) after making 21 stops.
PSU will be back on the ice on Saturday for another MASCAC game. The Panthers travel to Westfield State for a 5:35 p.m. start. The Rams will host Salem State on Saturday at 1:40 p.m.
*Release courtesy of PSU sports information