Worcester State Holds Off Salem State

SALEM, Mass. – Brendan Ronan (Saugus, Mass.) had a goal and two assists, which included an empty-netter, as Worcester State held on to defeat Salem State 4-2 in MASCAC hockey action on Thursday evening at Rockett Arena. The Lancers improve to 3-5 and even their record at 2-2 in conference. The Vikings are now 1-5 and 0-4 in the MASCAC.

Deiter Stange (Niles, Ill.) gave Worcester State a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal on the Lancers' first opportunity of the night at 4:27 of the first. Shane Prifrel (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) followed with his first goal of the year, putting home a rebound at 16:05, giving Worcester State a 2-0 first period lead.

Anders Grongstad (Royal Oak, Mich.) made it 3-0, going top-shelf at 1:30 of the second. Meanwhile, Lancers goalie Jakub Kubik (Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic) made several outstanding saves to keep the Vikings off the scoreboard. Erik Larsson (Lake Tahoe, Calif.) finally broke through, putting home a pass from Zach Dill (Lake Tahoe, Calif.) to cut the deficit to 3-1 with less than three minutes to play in the second period.

Matt Yianacopolus (Wakefield, Mass.) kept momentum with the Vikings, converting Salem State's second power-play goal of the game, to draw the home team to within 3-2 early in the third. Salem State held a sizeable 18-8 advantage in shots in the third, but Kubik kept the Vikings out of the net the rest of the way as Ronan iced the game with :30 seconds remaining. Kubik finsihed wiith 40 saves while Hunter Thomas (Schwenksville, Pa.) made 24 stops for Salem State, who outshot Worcester State, 42-28 for the game.