Men's Hockey Drops MASCAC Contest to Salem State

Men's Hockey Drops MASCAC Contest to Salem State | https://corsairathletics.com/

By Press release submission

Feb 15, 2023

Men's Hockey Drops MASCAC Contest to Salem State

It was a tough defeat on Saturday night for the UMass Dartmouth men's hockey team, falling 3-2 to Salem State University in MASCAC action at Hetland Arena. The Vikings improved to 7-16-0 and 5-11-0 in conference action, while the Corsairs slip to 8-14-2 and 6-10-1 in the MASCAC.

Saturday's contest also marked Senior Night as the Corsairs recognized their eight seniors, including Michael Perrone, Sky Silverstein, Clay Ellerbrock, Justin Weinbrenner, Jake Maynard, Ryan Mascali, Tanner Opie and Daniel Davidson.

After a scoreless opening period of play, it was UMass Dartmouth that got on the board first as freshman winger Kevin Johnston banked in a cross pass from \Weinbrenner at 1:47 on the power play. Senior defender Cade Hanley earned the second assist on the play.

The lead held until the mid-way point as Salem State countered at 10:34. Center Keagan O'Donoghue earned the lone assist, coming through the right circle before dropping a pass to the middle. Left wing Erik Larsson came in fast through the slot, sending the puck into the top right corner for the equalizer.

Rookie center Matthew Zdanowicz pulled the Corsairs back into the lead at 13:45 on an outstanding play in the neutral zone. Freshman defender Jimmy Mettler earned the assist, stealing the puck off a Vikings player in the middle and carrying it into the circle. Zdanowicz sped in as Mettler dropped it back for the score.

Late in the frame, Salem State once again got the equalizer as right winger Zach Dill capitalized on the power play. Winger David Cicak earned the assist as he dropped the puck into a scrum in front. Dill was there at the left corner, pounding it in past Davidson at 19:16.

Heading into the final frame, the Vikings grabbed the go-ahead tally at 3:57 as Larsson drilled the puck in on a give-and-go from Dill. Cicak earned the second assist on the play.

The Corsairs had a number of chances to tie it up, including back-to-back shots from rookie winger Billy McDevitt and Mettler which were saved by SSU's Aaron Mercer.

UMass Dartmouth then saw three more shots on goal, but Mercer was once again up to the task. Rookie winger Tyler Stewart put a pair of shots on goal, but the Vikings netminder continued to hold up.

Late in the frame, the Corsairs looked to tie it up, but were unable to take advantage of the extra attacker before time expired.

Mercer earned the victory, posting 31 saves on the night, while Davidson made 29 saves at the other end for the Corsairs.

On the faceoff, Dill posted a 10-2 mark, while O'Donoghue was 10-10. For UMD, Zdanowicz had a 12-6 mark in the circle.

The Corsairs return to action on Saturday, February 18 when they travel to Westfield State for the MASCAC regular season finale. Puck drop is at 5:35pm against the Owls.