Panthers Rout Vikings 7-1

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Sophomore Grant DeWitt (Bowling Green, Ohio) tallied a pair of goals as the Plymouth State University offense exploded in a 7-1 win over rival Salem State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey game at Hanaway Rink on Saturday night.

DeWitt got the scoring started early with his first of the year at the 2:34 mark, but sophomore Billy McGwin (Rochester, N.Y.) had the answer for the Vikings just 2:38 later as Salem State (2-5-2, 2-4-0 MASCAC)cashed in on its first power play chance.

Laurin picked up his first career score with a power play tally at 11:28 and freshman Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) added his team-leading fifth of the year 1:29 later to make it 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

The Panthers (5-4-1, 5-1-0 MASCAC) continued to pile on in the middle stanza as sophomore Mike McPherson (Somerville, Mass.) and senior Victor Bergstrom (Angelholm, Sweden) each notched their first scores of the year around DeWitt's second of the night. DeWitt's goal came on a delayed penalty, while Bergstrom scored 20 seconds later with PSU on a 5-on-3.

Junior Jake Gerbner (Havertown, Pa.) picked up his second of the season when he redirected a shot from sophomore Jarrett Slear (West Chester, Pa.) 3:25 into the final stanza.

McPherson added a pair of assists to his line for a three-point game, while DeWitt, Bergstrom, Laurin, Slear and sophomore Simon Besner (North Lancaster, Ontario) all posted two points.

Senior Andreas Pettersson (Trollhattan, Sweden) made 17 saves to run his record to 5-1-1 for the Panthers.

Senior Sean Cleary (Barnstable, Mass.) made 20 saves but allowed six goals in the first 27:23 for Salem, dropping to 2-5-2, before giving way to sophomore Joona Sato-Hunsula (Turku, Finland), who turned aside 19 shots over the final 32:37.

(Courtesy Plymouth State Sports Information)