Courtesy Plymouth State Sports Information

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. - Senior forward Chris Chambers (Crofton, Md.) and freshman defenseman Richie Zobak (Evergreen Park, Ill.) registered a goal and two assists apiece Tuesday evening as third-seeded Plymouth State University defeated sixth-seeded Worcester State College, 7-3, in the opening round of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey tournament at Waterville Valley Arena.

The Panthers, 17-8-1 overall, move on to the semifinal round and will travel to second-seeded Salem State College on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. face-off.  The Lancers complete their season at 5-18-2.

A pair of freshmen gave Plymouth State a 2-0 lead as Matt Aponte (Plano, Texas) opening the scoring five minutes into the game and Alex Cottle (West Chester, Pa.) followed with a power play goal at 13:50.

The Panthers took control of the contest with four unanswered goals to start the middle frame, including two more by freshmen.  Chambers made it 3-0 with a backhander at 4:36, and freshman Sean Foley (Weymouth, Mass.) added an unassisted short-handed goal at 7:10.  Freshman Seth Phelan (Bristol, Conn.) scored less than a minute later and junior Andrew Stewart (O'Leary, PEI) made it 6-0 at the 9:47 mark.

Junior Chris Wallin (Avon, Conn.) put the Lancers on the board with a power play goal with just over a minute to play in the second period.  Senior Mark Rintel (Oakland Gardens, N.Y.) and sophomore Nick Asterito (Philadelphia, Pa.) added third-period goals for the visitors, and Zobak scored a power play goal for PSU to round out the scoring.

Plymouth State finished with a 47-22 advantage in shots on goal.  PSU senior goaltender Aaron Runner (Alpharetta, Ga.) made 19 saves to record the victory.

The year's Panthers become just the second team in school history to reach 17 victories.  The school record was set by the 1985-86 squad, which finished 19-7.

Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass. -  UMass Dartmouth jumped out to a 4-1 lead and held on for a 4-3 victory over Westfield State in the quarterfinals of the MASCAC ice hockey tournament on Tuesday, March 2.

UMass Darmouth, the No. 6 with an 11-14-1 overall record, advances to the semifinals and will play at No. 1 seed Fitchburg State on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. UMass Dartmouth defeated Fitchburg State, 6-3, in the regular season finale last Friday. Westfield, the No. 3 seed, finishes its season with a 13-10-3 overall record, including a 2-0-1 regular season record vs. UMass Dartmouth.

 After a scoreless first period, the Corsairs took a 3-0 second-period lead on goals by Joe Hill, Todd Bartelson and Nick Marquis, whose marker came with 39 seconds remaining in the stanza.

 But senior Casey Mignone got the Owls on the scoreboard with six seconds remaining in the second period when he skated past three defenders for a power play goal.

 Westfield's momentum was thwarted in the opening minute of the third period when the Owls picked up two quick penalties. Mike Owens then gave the Corsairs a 4-1 lead on a 5-on-3 power play 1:42 into the period.

 The Owls battled back for an exciting finish in front of the large and vocal crowd. Freshman Lucas Romero ripped a wrister inside the right post to make it 4-2 6:19 into the period.

 Mignone followed with a magnificent goal with 7:31 remaining in the game when he snuck a shot inside the right post on a mini-breakaway while being heavily guarded by a defender.

 The Owls pulled goalie Ian Wilson with 1:15 remaining to set up a frantic finish. Westfield mounted on furious assault of shots on UMass Dartmouth standout goalie Jon Dryjowicz-Burek but came up just short of sending the game into overtime.

 Westfield cranked at least five shots in the closing seconds, including two from the point by Dennis Zak that were blocked, and a Romero shot from the right side that was redirected by the goalie. Freshman Danny Kaufman went high in attempt to score but his shot near the left crease just sailed over the right post.