Lancers Start Conference Play with Win over Corsairs

Worcester, MA-The Lancers traveled to visit UMass-Dartmouth for their first conference battle of the season earlier this evening looking for both their first conference and season win. Worcester State was able to start their MASCAC journey on a high note with a statement victory over UMass-Dartmouth.

Worcester State and UMass-Dartmouth played an intense opening period in which both offenses berated the opposing goalie, but only UMass-Dartmouth was able to find the back of the net first. The Lancers outshot the Corsairs 19-13, including a last minute rush in the dying seconds of the first, and Worcester State's defense was able to hold strong throughout 19 of the opening 20 minutes. But a Corsairs shot trickled past the Lancers goalie with just one minute left to go. 

While the first half of the second period saw little action, the Lancers took complete control of the contest in the latter. A senior Kevin Drevich (Oxford, NJ) goal tied the game up at one 10 minutes and four seconds into the second, and senior Mikey Wilson (Alexandria, VA) power play goal put Worcester State on top about five minutes later. Only a minute later the Lancers continued their second-period dominance with a sophomore Max Tucker (Kalamazoo, Mich.) goal and Worcester State was up 3-1 headed into the second intermission. 

In the third, the Corsairs were able to pull within one at 8:16, but the Lancers held strong until the final siren. An empty-net goal with just over ten seconds left by senior Max Roth (Chicago, Ill.) put the nail in the coffin as the Lancers cemented their first victory of the season. 

Freshman Anders Grongstad (Royal Oak, Mich.) and Brain Clougherty (Lynn, Mass.) each had a pair of assists, and Jakub Kubik had a fantastic night in between the pipes, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced. 

The Lancers will host Rivier University at 3:00 p.m. at the Fidelity Ice Center on Saturday at 3pm as they look to pull to .500 on the season. UMass-Dartmouth comes out of tonight's battle at 0-1 in the conference and 1-2 overall.