Corsairs Pull Away for 5-1 Victory

SALEM, Mass. – Parker Butler (Summit, N.J.) stopped 23 shots and Eric Bolden (Oswego, III.) added a pair of scores as UMass Dartmouth scored a 5-1 victory over Salem State on Thursday evening at Rocket Arena. The Corsairs, who won for the fifth time in six games, even their record at 7-7 and improve to 4-3 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). The Vikings slide to 4-8-1 and 3-5 in the league.

A scoreless first period, which saw Salem State outshoot UMass Dartmouth 13-9, preceded the Corsairs getting on the scoreboard twice in the second. Brendan McDonough (Wilmington, Mass.) setup Ryan Tierney Jimmy Pelton (Syracuse, N.Y.), who slipped a shot past Sean Cleary (Barnstable, Mass.) at the 5:32 mark for his first goal of the year. Less than five minutes later, McDonough set up Bolden for a one-timer with a man-advantage as UMass Dartmouth jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Cleary made several well executed saves in the final minutes of the period to keep the deficit at just two goals.

Bolden notched his second score of the evening when he fired in a rebound in the opening minutes of the third that extended the Corsairs' lead to three goals. Connor Court (Swansea, III.) later added a breakaway shorthanded goal midway through the third before McDonough, notched his fourth assist of the night, setting up Sean Leonard (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) that capped the scoring for UMass Dartmouth. Trevor Mallett (York, Maine) added a late power play goal for the Vikings to make the final 5-1.

The Corsairs went 3-for-4 on the power play and held a slim 27-24 advantage in shots.

Butler improves to 3-4 on the season and 3-2 in conference while Cleary goes to 3-5 in net, with a 2-5 MASCAC record.