Plymouth State Skates Away to 6-1 Victory Over Salem State

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications

SALEM, Mass.- Will Redick (Wasaga Beach, Ontario) netted a hat trick to lift Plymouth State to a 6-1 victory over Salem State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Rockett Arena. The Panthers increase their record to 8-1-2, 6-0-2 while the Vikings dropped to 3-6-0, 3-4-0.  

Prior to the game Luke Day (Ottsville, Pa.) talked about the rivalry between both teams. "This is a big rivalry. We kind of look forward to this game every year, especially playing at home this is kind off a big game." Coach MacInnis spoke about what it will means if his team can hand Plymouth State their first conference lost of the season. "I think that would be huge, we have got to stick to the process and do the little things and take it period by period. We kind of been down a couple games and we want to get back on the winning track. So if we are able to pull this one [off] before Christmas break. I think it would be a good way to go into the holidays."  

Eight minutes into the game, Day made a shot that was saved by Panthers' goaltender Kalle Andersson (Taby, Sweden) on the left side of the net. A few seconds later, Patrick O'Connell (West Chester, Pa.) shot from the right side of the net, looking to score, but it was deflected by Aaron Mercer's  (Corner Brook, Newfoundland) padding. Andrew Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) was near the net and made the shot to give Plymouth State a 1-0 lead at 6:50 with the assist going to David Matousky (Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic).

Carson Lanceleve (Stewiacke, Nova Scotia) took a shot near the net that hit the right side of the post, and the Panthers were inches away from extending their lead to 2-0. 

The Vikings went into the locker room down 1-0, heading into the second period. 

The Vikings started the second period with a power play, but unfortunately, they were unable to capitalize on it. The Panthers extended their lead early in the period when Redick skated quickly past three Vikings and scored a backhand goal from the left side of the ice. Salem State had a power play opportunity when the Panthers' Dante Moretti (Powell, Ohio) went to the box for holding. Unfortunately, the Vikings failed to convert their first three power play attempts into a score. 

The Panthers managed to take a 3-0 lead over the Vikings when Connor Tait (Boyds, MD), who was sprinting towards the Vikings' zone, sent a shot through Mercer's legs. Time of the goal was 13:51 of the second.  

Throughout the first two periods, Mercer saved 27 of 30 shots, while Andersson saved all 20 shots. The Vikings were 0 for 3 during their power plays, while the Panthers still haven't had a powerplay throughout the game.  

Plymouth State extended their lead when Connor Tait of the Panthers passed the puck to Redick who scored, with Tait and Jellvick being credited with the assists. Redick went on to score his third goal of the game on a power play, assisted by Sevir Sulonen (Turku, Finland). At this point, the Vikings were down 5-0, but Day managed to score to give the Vikings their first goal of the game at 10:59 mark during the period. The Panthers scored one more during the final five minutes of the game to seal the deal.

Mercer saved 39 of 45 shots, while Andersson stopped 35 of 36 shots. Salem State had five power plays but failed to score, while Plymouth State went 1-for-1 on their only opportunity.

After the game coach MacInnis expressed how his team can improve during power plays. "We have just got to simplify things on the power play, I think just getting pucks into the net and just making the passes outside. When you have chances like that you have to be able to capitalize. We only took one penalty and they were one for one on the power play, but that's a big part of the game. If we are able to score a couple of times, it will change everything."  

The Vikings will play their final game of the three-game home stand against Johnson and Wales (RI) on Tuesday, December 5th, at 7:00 p.m.