#6 Salem State Upends #3 Worcester State, Advances to MASCAC Tournament Semifinals

WORCESTER, Mass. – Connor Woolley (Poghquag, N.Y. ) and Keagan O'Donoghue (Frisco, Texas ) each tallied a goal and added an assist apiece as sixth seed Salem State held off third seed Worcester State 4-3 in the opening round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey tournament on Saturday afternoon at Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The Lancers scored twice with their goalie pulled in the final minute, but came up one goal short as the Vikings (11-12) advance to the semifinal round. Worcester State see's their season end with a record of 11-13-2. 

Max Moriarty (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Mike Wilson (Alexandria, Va.) scored thirty-six seconds apart to pull the Lancers back to within a goal, but with only ten seconds remaining after Wilson's sixth goal of the season, they ran out of time to find an equalizer.

Martin Dlugolinksy (Stara Lubovna, Slovakia) gave Worcester State a lead just 1:12 into the first period with his fifth goal of the year, but Woolley tied the game midway through the frame and then Erik Larsson's (Lake Tahoe, Calif.) power-play goal with just over a minute remaining put Salem State on top 2-1 heading into the break.

Woolley had a goal and an assist in the first period. He evened the game when he followed up his own shot and plucked the puck off the far post and into the back of the net at 11:21 of the first.

Woolley also earned a helper on a power play goal by Larsson, who shoveled home from in front of the net to beat Worcester State freshman goalie Jakub Kubik (Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic).

The Vikings extended their lead further, first when Luke Day (Ottsville, Pa.) scored the only goal of the second period, and again when O'Donoghue found the empty net with two minutes and ten seconds remaining.

Down 4-1, the Lancers pulled Kubik again and Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass.) set up Moriarty for his second goal of the season. With the net still empty, Wilson pulled another one back, set up by Will Ahearn (Charlestown, Mass.) and Jason Lee (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), who earned his second assist of the night.

Kubik made 30 saves in the Lancer net, while Aaron Mercer (Corner Brook, NL) had 35 stops to earn the victory.

(Contributions from Worcester State Sports Information)