Second Seeded Salem State, Fourth Seeded Fitchburg State Advance To 2011 MASCAC Men's Ice Hockey Championship Game
Second-seeded Salem State and fourth-seeded Fitchburg State will meet for a second straight season to decide the MASCAC Men's Ice Hockey Championship after advancing to the title contest on Thursday evening with respective extra session semi-final round triumphs over sixth-seeded Westfield State and top-seeded UMass Dartmouth
Courtesy Fitchburg State Sports Information
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (March 3, 2011) – Fourth-seeded Fitchburg State stunned top-seeded UMass Dartmouth, 4-3 in double-overtime semifinal action of the 2010-11 MASCAC Tournament this evening.
Fitchburg State (17-9-1, 9-8-1 MASCAC) will advance to Saturday’s championship match to face second-seeded Salem State University. UMass Dartmouth concludes its season with an overall record of 18-7-1 and a 13-4-1 mark in the MASCAC.
Junior Thomas McAleer (East Islip, Mass./New York Bobcats) netted the game-winning marker at the 9:50 mark of the second overtime period, while senior Robert Vorse (Leominster, Mass./Bay State Breakers) was stellar in net with 37 saves for the Falcons. Both goaltenders were lights out over the final three periods of play, turning away shot after shot as UMass Dartmouth posted a 49-40 margin in targets. Senior Collin Tracy (Medford, Mass./Medford) notched 36 stops for the Corsairs.
Freshman Ryan Hurd (Mound, Minn./Rochester Ice Hawks) put UMass Dartmouth on the board first, hitting home with a glove-side, wrist shot from the right point, but Fitchburg State answered quickly as McAleer hit the back of the net with a back-hander for the equalizer at 7:54. Senior Kevin McCready (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Mohawk CC) gave the visitors a 2-1 edge heading into the first intermission, taking a loose puck in front of the net and connecting for his team-leading 14th goal of the season.
UMass Dartmouth knotted the score early in the second period as junior Rob Dudley (Douglas, Mass./Middlesex School) posted an unassisted marker off a breakaway just 2:25 into the period. The Corsairs grabbed a 3-2 advantage five minutes later (7:35) as Jason Stahl (Londonderry, N.H./Valley Jr. Warriors) tipped in a Dan Dempsey (Norwell, Mass./Lebanon Valley) feed from outside, but Fitchburg State responded immediately (8:26) as Trevor Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass./New England Jr. Huskies) moved the game to a 3-3 deadlock with his eighth goal of the year.
In the third period, play remained heated with neither defense bending. Both teams had ample opportunities on net with Fitchburg State holding a 10-8 shot advantage in the period. Play continued on to a pair of 20 minute extra stanzas, where Fitchburg State would clinch the 4-3 victory in the second extra frame.
Courtesy Salem State Sports Information
The Vikings will move on to defend their reign as MASCAC Champions in the tournament finale on Saturday against the Fitchburg State University Falcons, who advanced with a 4-3 double overtime victory over top-seeded UMass Dartmouth in the other conference semi-final played Thursday evening.
Salem State goaltender James LaCour (Silver Springs, MD) turned away 28 of 30 shots on goal to earn the win. Owl's netminder Ray Monroe (Shrewsbury, MA) stopped 24 of 27 shots faced.
Westfield played a near flawless first period. The defense kept the top ranked MASCAC offense of Salem State off the scoreboard for nealry twenty minutes of play. The Vikings were troubled by penalty minutes in the period. The Owl's offense capitalized on the second power-play on a three on two advantage deep in the Salem State zone. Jimmy Alexander (Braintree, MA) set up Jason Nelson (Raleigh, NC) to beat LaCour stick side at 6:15.
The Viking's penalty killers proved their worth, answering late in the first period and in the second period with a pair of shorthanded goals. Josh Franklin (Wrentham, MA) beat Monroe high on a break away at 19:36 to even the score at one goal. In the second period Westfield attacked relentlessly on a power- play opportunity. A slap shot from the left point boomeranged to the neutral zone. Kyle Phelan (Barnstable, MA) broke through the blue line and sent a cross-ice pass to Genovese past Monroe's glove at 10:04 for the 2-1 go ahead goal.
The third period was full of tightly contested hockey. With less than a minute in the third period the Owls had two men in the penalty box. The victory was in the making for Salem State. However, Dennis Zak (Dover, NJ), pushed the puck up ice to Vince Perrault (Braeside, ONT) to tie the game with 17.6 seconds left on the clock.
Westfield spent the first 2:30 of the overtime period killing off the remainder of Steve Plancey's (Point Pleasant, NJ) double major penalty. The Owls held the Vikings at bay. Then at 3:26 of overtime, Giancarlo Capodanno (Mountainside, NJ) carried the puck deep into Westfield territory. Capodanno found an outlet at the right circle in Genovese who beat Monroe short side to advance the Vikings to the championship round with 3-2 overtime victory.