After upsetting their opponents on Saturday, fifth seed Westfield State, sixth seed Salem State and seventh seed Framingham State are moving on to the semifinals of the 2022 MASCAC Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

#6 Salem State 4, #3 Worcester State 3   Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – Connor Woolley (Poghquag, N.Y. ) and Keagan O'Donoghue (Frisco, Texas ) each tallied a goal and added an assist apiece as sixth seed Salem State held off third seed Worcester State 4-3 in the opening round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey tournament on Saturday afternoon at Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The Lancers scored twice with their goalie pulled in the final minute, but came up one goal short as the Vikings (11-12) advance to the semifinal round. Worcester State see's their season end with a record of 11-13-2. 

Max Moriarty (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Mike Wilson (Alexandria, Va.) scored thirty-six seconds apart to pull the Lancers back to within a goal, but with only ten seconds remaining after Wilson's sixth goal of the season, they ran out of time to find an equalizer.

Martin Dlugolinksy (Stara Lubovna, Slovakia) gave Worcester State a lead just 1:12 into the first period with his fifth goal of the year, but Woolley tied the game midway through the frame and then Erik Larsson's (Lake Tahoe, Calif.) power-play goal with just over a minute remaining put Salem State on top 2-1 heading into the break.

Woolley had a goal and an assist in the first period. He evened the game when he followed up his own shot and plucked the puck off the far post and into the back of the net at 11:21 of the first.

Woolley also earned a helper on a power play goal by Larsson, who shoveled home from in front of the net to beat Worcester State freshman goalie Jakub Kubik (Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic).

The Vikings extended their lead further, first when Luke Day (Ottsville, Pa.) scored the only goal of the second period, and again when O'Donoghue found the empty net with two minutes and ten seconds remaining.

Down 4-1, the Lancers pulled Kubik again and Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass.) set up Moriarty for his second goal of the season. With the net still empty, Wilson pulled another one back, set up by Will Ahearn (Charlestown, Mass.) and Jason Lee (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), who earned his second assist of the night.

Kubik made 30 saves in the Lancer net, while Aaron Mercer (Corner Brook, NL) had 35 stops to earn the victory.

#5 Westfield State 2 #4 UMass Dartmouth 1 OT   Box Score

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior forward Justin Collins (Wilmington, Mass.) deposited the game-winning goal 1:37 into overtime to lift the Owls to a 2-1 victory over UMass Dartmouth on a Saturday afternoon in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinal game from Hetland Arena.

The victory advances the Owls into the MASCAC semifinals, where the Owls were one of three lower seeds to advance into the next round. The win moves Westfield State to 13-10-2 overall while UMass Dartmouth drops to 9-14-2 and are eliminated from tournament play.

Westfield set up the sudden death winner with a quick neutral zone entry, as sophomore defenseman Cullen Young (Maynard, Mass.) fed the puck along the boards in the defensive end to sophomore Gianluca Marini (Lighthouse Point, Fla.), who then centered a pass to Collins. Collins collected the pass and sped past the defending Corsairs, tucking the puck through the five-hole of Dartmouth goaltender Daniel Davidson (Surrey B.C.) to send the Owls home with a victory. Jake Ratcliffe (Auckland, New Zealand) and Marini were credited with the assists on the game-winner. The Collins goal was the opening shot on net in the overtime period for either side.

The Owls had to come from behind to force the overtime period as the Corsairs struck first at the 4:29 mark in the opening period as graduate student Melker Kroon (Malmo, Sweden) collected a loose puck in the crease and buried it into the back of the net to put the Corsairs on the board. Jimmy Pelton (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Dominic Dumas (Boise, Idaho) added assists on the goal.

The score would remain 1-0 until late in the second period when Owls graduate student Chuck Costello (Philadelphia, Pa.) ripped a wrist shot from the point towards the top left corner of the net to give Westfield the equalizing goal on the power play. Junior Joseph Carbone (Marshfield, Mass.) tallied the assist on the scoring play.

There was no scoring in the third period, but both teams had legitimate chances, particularly late in the third period. The performance of Owls net-minder Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) was key to forcing sudden death as UMass Dartmouth was awarded a power play with seven minutes remaining in the period. Valtonen came up with three saves to kill the penalty and preserve the tie. The Owls also had a significant chance of their own with under a minute left in regulation when senior captain John-Michael DiGregorio (Montreal, Quebec) fired a shot on Davidson that was stopped, but not frozen as the puck sat in the middle of the crease. A group of Corsairs fell on the puck in the goalie's crease to stop any further chances and ultimately send the game to overtime.

Valtonen stood tall in net for Westfield, saving 38 of 39 shots faced including 17 saves in the third period alone. Davidson was equally tough for the Corsairs in the game as well, stopping 33 of 35 shots on net. Both teams had six minor penalties across the three regulation periods. The Owls converted on one of their two power plays given, and UMass Dartmouth was held scoreless on their own man advantage chances, going 0-2.

Since all the lower seeds won in their MASCAC quarterfinal match-ups, the fifth seeded Owls are the second highest seed remaining in the tournament, and will be on home ice for a MASCAC semifinal game against sixth seeded Salem State from Amelia Park Arena on Tuesday at 7:35 P.M. Top seeded Plymouth State, who received a bye in the opening round, will face-off against seventh seeded Framingham State in the other semifinal contest.  

#7 Framingham State 1 #2 Fitchburg State 0 OT    Box Score

Fitchburg, Mass. – The seventh seeded Framingham State Rams upset the second seeded Fitchburg State 1-0 in an overtime decision this evening in quarterfinal round action of the 2021-22 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from the Wallace Civic Center.

The Basics

Score: Framingham State 1, Fitchburg State 0, 
Records: Framingham State (3-18-1, 1-14-1 MASCAC), Fitchburg State (17-6-1, 14-3-1 MASCAC) 

How It Happened

In the middle stanza, Fitchburg State nearly took the lead midway through the frame as freshman Toivo Kramer (New York, N.Y.) and junior Rece Bergeman (Newark, Del.) put back-to-back shots on frame, but Framingham State keeper Blake Carlson (Clermont, Fla.) was able to deny both shots to keep the contest scoreless going into the third period.

In the third period of play, The Falcons threatened when junior Gene Bouthiette (Enfield, Conn.) fired a shot the Carlson turned aside, while in the winding second, Rams junior Cam Lindsay (Coatesville, Penn.) skated in on a breakaway attempt, but Fitchburg State goaltender Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) made a sprawling save to send the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, Fitchburg State nearly broke the 0-0 deadlock 4:16 into the stanza with Bergeman one timing a shot that Carlson just got a piece of. Two minutes later Framingham State sophomore Kaleb Kinskey (Dike, Ill.) settled a feed from senior Jacob Garman (Anchorage, Alaska) and proceeded to deposit the puck inside the near post for his first collegiate tally, resulting in the 1-0 overtime final.

By the Numbers

• 69th meeting between the Falcons and the Rams on the ice with Fitchburg State 55-9-5 all-time when taking on Framingham State
• Fitchburg State held a 40-20 edge in shots
• Framingham State went 0-for-4 with the man advantage
• McGrath stopped 19 shots for the Falcons
• Carlson made 40 saves for the Rams

Up Next

Rams will travel to Plymouth State on Tuesday to take on the Panthers in the MASCAC Semifinals. Falcons conclude the 2021-22 season this evening. 

Release courtesy of Fitchburg State, Salem State and Westfield State Sports Information