Courtesy of Salem State Sports Information

Salem, Mass. -- The top seeded Vikings of Salem State claimed the 2014 men's ice hockey championship of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) after defeating second seed Plymouth State 5-1 on Saturday afternoon at Rocket Arena. With the victory, the Vikings earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, their first since 1995, and improve to 16-9-2 on the year.

Plymouth State controlled the puck during the first period spending a majority of the period on the attack. Vikings net minder Ryan Sutliffe (Las Vegas, NV) turned away multiple shots in front of the net from the visitors, including a tremendous glove save on a 2-on-1 chance for the Panthers.

However, Plymouth State struck 8:21 into the period on a goal from Ryan Callahan (Londonderry, NH) assisted from Tieg Alward (Vail, CO) and Mike Economos (Crystal Lake, IL). The Panthers outshot Salem State 12-7 in the first, and were able to escape the period with a 1-0 lead.

A change of pace occurred in the second period in favor of the Vikings. Chris Mastropietro (Revere, MA) provided a spark, tying the game for Salem State on an acrobatic shot from his knees in front of the net on an assist from Alex Minter (Peabody, MA). Minter on the goal: "It was a great play from my whole line, Mastropietro made a great pass and I just fired it as soon as I got it." A minute later, Gabriel Cromp (Montreal, Quebec) buried a shot from just inside the blue line on a pass from Mark Macdonald (Norwell, MA) to give Salem State a 2-1 advantage.

The Vikings defense played phenomenal in the period allowing only three shots on net and killed multiple penalties, including a 5-on-3 disadvantage. The Vikings added another goal on a wrist shot from the top of the circle by Minter, assisted by Mastropietro and Keaton Cashin (Boxford, MA).  The Vikings outshot the Panthers 11-3 in the period and entered the third period with a 3-1 lead.

With momentum on their side, Salem State was able to add onto their lead with another Mastropietro goal on a scrum in front of the net that bounced off Mastropietro's helmet and into the net. Cashin led the way for the Vikings defense, blocking shot after shot when it mattered most.

When the Panthers did get shots on net, Sutliffe was there to close the door, saving a total of 16 shots. Mastropietro, who was named MASCAC Tournament MVP,  earned a hat-trick 18:21 into the third, capping a perfect night with his third goal of the game to secure the Vikings first MASCAC title since 2010.

Panthers goalie Gordon Ceasar (Oak Park, CA) turned away 23 Vikings' shot attempts despite allowing five goals against. Plymouth State ends their season with a 14-11-2 record.