O'Donoghue Scores Four Goals as Salem State Rallies Past Framingham State

Jose Rodriguez '24 Stafff Writer | Media & Communications

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-  Keagan O'Donoghue netted four goals as Salem State used a furious third period rally to come-from-befind to defeat Framingham State, 7-5 in a MASCAC contest at Loring Arena on Saturday evening. The Vikings improved 2-2, 2-1 while the Rams slipped to 1-3,1-2.    

After the game O'Donoghue spoke about his four-goal performances. "When you play with line mates like [Zach] Dill and [Erik] Larsson it's found to find my stick at some point. We will put the puck on the net. The way the boys played today along with the whole orange team we were flying. We played bad at the beginning, but we are never out of any game."    

The game began with the Vikings and the Rams, playing aggressively. Peyton Hughes of the Vikings attempted to score on two separate occasions from the corner, but was thwarted by Rams' goaltender Liam Kilgallen. As the period progressed, Framingham started attacking Salem State's zone, but goalie Aaron Mercer of the Vikings prevented the Rams from scoring. 

Salem State was very close to scoring the first goal of the game when Christopher Dowd passed the puck to Carson James, who was on the right side, during a two-on-two breakaway, but unfortunately, James missed the net. Later, the teams were playing four-on-four as Ashton Collazo of the Rams went to the box for cross-checking and Skylar Miller of the Vikings for roughing. The Rams took the lead when Scott Bugarin scored from the left side of the goal, with Cameron Lindsay and Brent Scott earning assists. The goal was scored at 15:30 of the first period. Mercer saved 15 of 16 shots, while Kilgallen saved all nine shots. The Vikings won ten face offs compared to the Rams' 13. 

Going into the second period, the Vikings were down by one and would be looking to bounce back. Salem State was a man down in the early minutes of the period, with the Rams scoring a power play goal at 40 seconds. Brady Rossbach scored before O'Donoghue of the Vikings was able to score thanks to a beautiful pass from Zack Dill, cutting the deficit to one.  

The puck was loose in Framingham's zone, and two of the Rams' players were trying to get it, but Erik Larsson of the Vikings snuck in and sprinted at full speed and managed to get to the puck just in time. He was able to go one-on-one with the Rams' goalie and scored from the left side of the net to make the score even. The goal was scored at 5:36 of the second period.  

The Rams scored another power play goal when Cameron Lindsay beat Mercer with Brady Rossbach and Brent Scott earning assists. The goal was scored at 6:58 of the second period. Framingham did an excellent job scoring the fourth goal of the game, with Tyler Westfall scoring from the left side, assisted by Garret Conner and Walker Smith. The goal was scored at 9:02 of the second period.  

Salem State started attacking the Rams' zone as they were down by two goals, and O'Donoghue scored his second of the game. Larsson managed to get credit for the assist, and the Vikings inched closer. The score was 4-3, and the goal was scored at 11:29 of the second period. The Vikings were looking to tie the game when O'Donoghue passed the puck to Dill, who was on the right side of the net, but unfortunately, he was denied.   

Mathew Nuzzolilo of the Rams managed to extend the lead by scoring a power play goal. After Mercer made some tough saves, Scott was on the left side and banged one into the net. The goal was assisted by Patrick Colgan and Ashton Collazo and scored at 16:36 of the second period.  

During the second period, there were seven goals combined, with the Vikings responsible for three of them. Salem State was down by two goals heading into the last period of regulation, and the Vikings would have to come back to win the game.  

After the game Coach MacInnis added, "It's definitely not the way you draw it up, but there were times our guys started maybe kind of going in the wrong direction with their composure, but we had good leadership and thery kept their head in it. In between periods our captain [Luke Pepin] stepped up talk to the boys and we knew what we had to do and went out and did it. 

During the third period Framingham was on the power play once again, with Selpica going to the box for the second time, this time for interference. In the early minutes of the last period of regulation, the Vikings managed to kill off the penalty and return to full strength. The Rams continued to put pressure on the Vikings and Mercer. Midway through the period, Salem State took advantage of a five-on-three penalty, with two Rams in the penalty box. The Vikings did a great job attacking the Rams' zone and making passes, with Dowd scoring on a Larsson assist.  

The Vikings managed to score three more times in just a minute and 17 seconds, with O'Donoghue responsible for two of those goals and Chase Conlon's first career NCAA goal.    

After the game coach MacInnis talked about the comeback win. "It happened in our first couple of games, being down couple of goals. The message is we are never out of games. Obviously we didn't play a good first two periods, but the boys decided to wake up for the third. It shows a lot of character…"