Lancers Power Through in 5-1 Win over Stonehill Skyhawks

FOXBORO, Mass. – The Worcester State University Lancers ended their seven game losing streak with a 5-1 win against the Stonehill College Skyhawks Wednesday evening. The Lancers improve their season record to 3-8-1, while the Skyhawks dip to 4-5-3.

Worcester State's Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.) started the scoring for the Lancers just 6:28 into the first period with an unassisted goal – his third on the season. Just about four minutes later, Worcester State's Kyle Baker (Fresno, Calif) received the puck from his teammates Andrew Etheridge (Burrillville, R.I.) and Alex Taddeo (Franklin, Mass.) to fire a shot into the goal, and mark the score 2-0 going into the second period.

The Lancers upped their score in the second period on a power play goal from Etheridge, assisted by Alex Pommerville (Macedon, N.Y.), in the seventh minute of the period. Worcester added to their 3-0 lead in the third period on goals from Joe White (Wonder Lake, Ill.) (unassisted) and Ryan Menard (Ashland, Mass.), assisted by Baker and Etheridge. Just moments away to a shutout for the Lancers, the Skyhawks' Richard Harris (Grand Island, N.Y.) was able to sneak a goal past Worcester's goaltender, Tyler Fallica (Coram, N.Y.) just 45 second before the time expired on a power play chance. This concluded the game with a score of  5-1.

With Etheridge's three points in tonight's game (one goal, two assists), he currently leads the Lancers in the points and assists categories for the 2015-16 season.

Despite the loss for the Skyhawks, they outnumbered the Lancers in faceoffs, winning 41-64 (64.1%) while the Lancers went 23-64 (35.9%). Worcester State earned the shot-advantage at 27-26 on the evening, while each team had equal penalty minutes of 12 apiece.

Fallica received the win for the Lancers, advancing to a 2-0-0 winning record on the season. Fallica marked 25 saves in his 60 minutes of play. Stonehill's Matt Palella (Chicago, Ill.) recorded his first loss of the season in goal, registering 22 saves on the night.

The Lancers' men's ice hockey team will take a month-long winter break before returning to play on Jan. 9 when they take on MASCAC opponent, UMass-Dartmouth in their home rink. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start time.