Bracket

After winning their fifth straight MASCAC regular season title, Plymouth State earned the top seed in the 2022 MASCAC Men's Ice Hockey Tournament which starts on Saturday, February 26.

The seven team tournaments begins on Saturday with the first round games. The tournament seedings are determined by the league's point system which is two points for a regulation and overtime win plus a point for a tie or overtime loss.

Up first #3 Worcester State hosts #6 Salem State at 4:20 pm while #2 Fitchburg State hosts #7 Framingham State at 5 pm and #4 UMass Dartmouth hosts #5 Westfield State also at 5 pm. The three winners will move on to the semifinals on Tuesday, March 1 with #1 Plymouth State hosting the lowest remaining seed at 6 pm while the other two teams face off. The semifinal winners will then meet on Saturday, March 5 for the MASCAC Tournament crown.

Plymouth State captured the number one seed and first round bye after finishing the MASCAC schedule 14-2-2. Forward Myles Abbate netted 16 goals while adding 18 assists for 34 points, including six power play goals and two game-winners. In the win over Salem State, he registered six points on a goal and five assists to lead the Panthers to the win.

Fitchburg State landed in the second spot after ending the season 14-3-1 in conference play. The Falcons were led by goalie Brian McGrath who finished the regular season with a 2.04 goals against average, .938 save percentage, 586 total saves and a .763 win percentage. In the win over Plymouth State, McGrath made 51 saves without allowing a goal in the 4-0 victory.

Earning the third seed is Worcester State who was 8-8-2 in MASCAC action. For the Lancers, Brendan Ronan led the team with eight goals and 13 assists with 21 points, including one power play goal. In the win over Fitchburg State, Ronan registered two goals and an assist to be a part of all three goals in the 3-1 win.

UMass Dartmouth is the fourth seed after ending the regular season 6-10-2. Dillon Radin finished the regular season first in the conference in points with 36 on 11 goals and 25 assists. In the early season win over Stonehill, he tallied three goals and an assist in the 8-0 win.

Claiming the fifth seed is Westfield State who was 7-9-2 during the league schedule in 2021-22. In between the pipes for the Owls is Valtteri Valtonen who led the MASCAC in saves with 632 while also registering a .924 save percentage, nine wins and  2.93 goals against average which were all the top five of the league at the end of the regular season. Against Salem State, Valtonen made 43 stops without allowing a goal in the 2-0 win.

Rounding out this year's tournament field are Salem State and Framingham State with the sixth and seventh seed, respectively. The Vikings were 8-10 at the end of the regular season. Joona Sato-Hunsula had a .921 save percentage, five wins, 2.97 goals against average with 410 saves to finish the regular season. For the Rams in his first season, Johnny Baker led the team with 14 points on six goals and eight assists with three of the goals on the power play. 

During the 2020 tournament, top seed Plymouth State defeated third seed UMass Dartmouth for the MASCAC Tournament title with the 6-2 win and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.