Plymouth State Stops Salem State's Run in MASCAC Championship Game

PLYMOUTH, N.H. --  Top-seed Plymouth State scored three unanswered goals in the third period to break open a close game as the Panthers skated to an 8-4 victory over sixth seed Salem State in the championship game of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) on Saturday at Hanaway Rink. The Panthers (19-5-2) claim their third straight title while the Vikings (12-13) were looking for their first post-season championship since 2017.   

The Panthers jumped out to the lead just 3:33 into the opening period when junior Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) collected the rebound off a shot in nearside and flipped it to Barone alone in the slot for the easy goal. Salem State pulled even seven minutes later when a blocked clear attempt resulted in a two-on-one break and freshman Luke Day (Ottsville, Pa.) finished off the chance and the game remained tied into the second period.

The visitors took advantage of the game's first power play 3:14 into the middle stanza when senior Joe Smith (Holbrook, Mass.) flew down the right side and found classmate Billy McGwin (Rochester, N.Y.) in the slot for a 2-1 lead.

Plymouth State came right back just over 30 seconds later when Abbate and Barone teamed up for the second time. Junior Ted Austin (Sylvania, Ohio) sent in a puck from the blue line that Abbate corralled behind the Salem State net before connecting with Barone flying into the slot for his 20th goal of the season.

PSU went ahead at the 8:12 mark when sophomore Anton Nasstrom (Ornskoldsvik, Sweden) took a pass from the blue line and whipped a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to the glove side for the 3-2 lead.

The Panthers rode the momentum to extend the lead to 4-2 as sophomore Jeromey Rancourt (Lewiston, Maine) used the forecheck to steal the puck from behind the Salem State goal before firing a pass to classmate Whim Stalberg (Gotenburg, Sweden), who buried his chance just 72 seconds later.

It looked like PSU might run away with the game after freshman Anton Jellvik (Taby, Sweden) made it 5-2 with 5:37 left in the period. Jellvik skated in from the right side and flipped a low angle show up to the top right corner, but Salem State did not back down.

The Vikings started the comeback during a 5-on-3 power play as senior Matt Yianacopolus (Wakefield, Mass.) snapped a wrist shot into the net with 4:23 left in the period and Salem State closed to within one, 5-4, when sophomore Keagan O'Donoghue (Frisco, Texas) fired a shot from the slot off a cross-ice pass to set up a dramatic third period.

PSU pushed the lead to 6-4 when Abbate set up graduate student Peter Laviolette (Longboat Key, Fla.), who was alone on the weakside during the power play 6:22 into the third and freshman Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) gave the Panthers some breathing room 4:30 later on another power play chance. Stuckless received a cross-ice pass at the right faceoff circle and slipped the puck to the top right corner to make it 7-4.

Salem State went on the power play with two minutes remaining and pulled its goalie for the 6-on-4 skater advantage, but junior Kyler Harding (Wilmington, N.C.) capped the PSU victory after taking the puck from his own goal line and flipping it the length of the ice into the empty net to account for the final score.

Kalle Andersson (Taby, Sweden) earned the win after making 21 saves for the Panthers, while Aaron Mercer (Corner Brook, Newfoundland) made 41 stops in the losing effort.

(Contributions from Plymouth State Sports Information)