Men's Ice Hockey Upended by UMass Dartmouth

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. - The Worcester State University men's ice hockey team suffered a 4-1 defeat Thursday evening to UMass Dartmouth in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action at Hetland Arena.

With the loss, Worcester State drops to 5-8-1 and 3-5-0 in the MASCAC. UMass Dartmouth improves to 5-8-2, with a mark of 4-3-1 in the league.

Freshman Michael Perrone (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) scored a pair of goals to lead UMass Dartmouth to the win. His power play tally 13:34 into the contest staked the host Corsairs to a 1-0 advantage, and his second goal of the night midway through the second stanza was one of three in the period for UMass Dartmouth, which also collected markers off the sticks of senior Cameron Mack (Long Beach, Calif.) and junior Dillon Radin (Long Beach, N.Y.) to take a 4-0 cushion after 40 minutes of play. 

That score held up until the closing minutes of action, as junior Matthew Manning's (Novi, Mich.) power play goal with 4:37 remaining provided the lone tally for the visiting Lancers.

Radin and Mack each added an assist to finish with a pair of points in the triumph for the Corsairs, who received two assists each from senior Sean Leonard (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) and freshman John Grealish (Bakersfield, Calif.) along with single helpers off the sticks of sophomore Jimmy Pelton (Syracuse, N.Y.) and freshmen Austin Miller (Meridian, Idaho) and Stephon Perreault (Greenwood Village, Colo.).  Sophomore Chris Stangarone (White Plains, N.Y.) stopped 30 of 31 shots faced to earn his fourth win of the winter between the pipes for UMass Dartmouth, which has won three straight and is unbeaten in four outings since the New Year.

Sophomore Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass.) and freshman Petr Staif (Zruc-Senec, Czech Republic) set up Manning's goal in the setback for Worcester State, which received 21 saves over the first two periods of play from senior Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills, Calif.). Freshman Blake Bjella (Mesa, Ariz.) added 10 stops in the final 20 minutes of action for the Lancers, who were outshot by a 35-31 margin and converted just one of 11 power play opportunities for the contest despite holding a 42-33 edge in the faceoff circle.

UMass Dartmouth will be idle until next Thursday, January 23 when the Corsairs travel to Salem, Mass. to take on Salem State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference clash that faces off at 7:00 pm, while Worcester State entertains Framingham State in a MASCAC matchup on Saturday evening in Worcester that faces off at 7:10 p.m.

#WooMIH

Release courtesy of UMass Dartmouth Sports Information.