Plymouth State Tops Worcester State, 4-2

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Sophomore Ryan Stevens (Colleyville, Texas.) notched a goal and an assist as the Plymouth State University men's ice hockey team defeated Worcester State University, 4-2, in a testy Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) game Thursday night at Hanaway Rink.

The Panthers held leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before a late goal by Worcester State made things interesting with just 1:24 left to play.  Stevens scored an empty-net goal in the final seconds to wrap up the win as Plymouth State improved to 5-3-0 (4-1-0 MASCAC).  The loss dropped the Lancers to 2-6-1 overall, and 1-3-1 in MASCAC play.

Matt Volonnino (Hackettstown, N.J.) put the Panthers up in the first period when he poked a rebound past Worcester's freshman goaltender Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills, Calif.) with 6:12 left.  Sophomore Ryan Stevens (Colleyville, Texas) and senior Tord Thoresen (Oppegard, Norway) both had shots leading to the rebound.

Seniors Tommy Dowell (Olathe, Kan.) and Ian McGilvrey (Omaha, Neb.) found classmate Michael Economos (Crystal, Lake, Ill.) alone in front of the net with a man advantage with 5:50 left in the second period.  Economos beat Reinstein low to the glove side to put PSU up 2-0. 

 Worcester State got a shorthanded goal midway through the second period when senior Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.) stole the puck and skated in alone, beating sophomore Evan Morelli (Reading, Mass.) high to the stick side at the 10:11 mark.

Junior Riley Flanagan (Weymouth, Mass.) restored the two goal lead when he pushed a loose puck into the net with 1:45 to play in the second period.  Freshman Alec LeFave (Hudson, N.H.) set up the goal when he stole the puck deep in Lancer territory.  LeFave found senior Ryan Callahan (Londonderry, N.H.), whose shot deflected off Reinstein, stopping in front of Flanagan for the easy score.

The Lancers made things interesting late in the third period when freshman Connor McKenzie (Nashville, Tenn.) flipped a backhanded shot into the top left corner with a man advantage with 1:24 left to play.  Classmate Nick Patullo (Doylestown, Pa.) set up the goal with a quick pass through the slot.

 Stevens capped the scoring when he scored an empty-net goal with 23 seconds left.

 Morelli improved to 2-2-0, while Reinstein dropped to 1-1-0.

Next up, the Lancers host Salem State Sunday (Dec. 4) in a 4:00 p.m. MASCAC matchup at the Hart Recreation Center. 

Release Courtesy of Plymouth State Sports Information