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Courtesy Salem State Sports Information

Salem State 5, Worcester State 0

Salem, MA— Salem State defeated Worcester State 5-0 to advance to the semi-finals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. The Vikings received goals from five different players, and behind goalie Ryan Sutliffe (Las Vegas, NV) shutout the visiting Lancers to improve to 14-11-1 on the year. Worcester State ends their season with a 6-17-3 mark.

The Vikings struck first when Ian Canty (South Windsor, CT) fired a shot that went five-hole on Lancer goaltender Salvatore Tecci (Franklin, MA).   John Marsters (Weymouth, MA) picked up the assist.  Salem State dominated play in the opening period and had several more scoring opportunities including, a point-blank shot by Sutton Wilson (Kalamazoo, MI) that was stonewalled by Tecci. However, the Vikings could not capitalize, making the 1-0 score stand after the 1^st period.

Salem State added another goal on the power play when Eric Defelice (Chalfont, PA) swatted the puck into the back of the net 5:18 into the 2^nd period on an assist by Keaton Cashin (Boxford, MA).  The Vikings scored again in the period when Kristofer Faric (Whitby, ON) blasted a rebound and caught the goaltender out of position to make it a 3-0 game.  Cam Moniz (Seekonk, MA) and Michael Washington (Denver, CO,) were credited with the assists.

Salem State continued to pressure the Lancers and scored two more goals early in the third to put the game away.  Brian Hanafin (Burlington, MA) batted in a rebound by Defelice and Cashin, and a minute later the Vikings’ Moniz converted on a power play off assists by Faric and Kyle Phelan (Barnstable MA) to make the final 5-0.

Salem State goaltender Ryan Sutliffe (Las Vegas, NV) made 16 saves to pick up the shutout while Tecci stopped 27 shots before being relieved by Taylor Fant (Denver, CO) – six saves – in the third.

Salem State controlled the puck, as they outshot Worcester State 38-16. The Lancers were 0-4 on the power play while the Vikings were successful on 2-6 opportunities.

The No. 3 seeded Vikings travel to No. 2 seeded UMass-Dartmouth for a semi-final match of the MASCAC Tournament on Tuesday night at 7:30.

Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information

Fitchburg State 4, Westfield State 3

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore defender Craig Halpin scored a deflected goal with 1:49 remaining to lift Fitchburg State University to a 4-3 victory over Westfield State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men’s ice hockey tournament quarterfinal game on Saturday, Feb. 23, at Amelia Park Arena.

The No. 5 seed Falcons (11-13-2) advance to the MASCAC semi-finals and will play at No. 1 seed Plymouth State University on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 6:00 p.m.

Westfield finishes its season with a 14-9-3 record, compiling the most victories in a season since reviving the varsity program in 2008-2009.

The Owls rallied from a 3-1 deficit after two periods to tie the score at 3-all on TJ Powers’ power play goal early in the third period, and Nic Vidoni’s goal off a rebound midway thru the final stanza.

Westfield appeared to have the momentum when Fitchburg was called for a tripping penalty with 4:29 remaining. The Owls had several major scoring opportunities during the power play but the Falcons were able to keep the score tied led by outstanding net play from goalie Randy Wolcott, who racked up 48 saves in the intense tournament game.

Halpin then scored the game-winning goal with under two minutes remaining. His shot front the point was sailing just wide of the left post but the puck hit an Owl defender and was redirected into the net.

Fitchburg led 2-1 after the opening period, scoring on power play goals by John Celli and Derek Giansanti. Powers scored his first of two goals less than a minute following the Falcons’ first tally after receiving a textbook passes from P.J. McCadden and Steve Evans.

Despite being outshot, 19-8, in the second period, Kevin Holmes scored the only goal of the stanza to give Fitchburg a 3-1 lead.

Westfield doubled up Fitchburg in shot attempts, 51-25.