WESTFIELD, Mass. – Plymouth State first-year forward Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) tallied a five-point night as the #11 nationally ranked Panthers defeated Westfield State 7-1 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass. on Thursday night.
Plymouth snapped the Owls three-game winning streak, falling to 9-10-1 overall and 5-8 in the MASCAC. The Panthers remain unbeaten in conference play this year, improving to 16-3-1 on the season and 14-0 in the league after their 12th straight win.
After a scoreless period in which Owls goalkeeper Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) fought off 21 shots on goal by Plymouth, the Panthers broke through in a big way in the second. Redick skated down the center of the ice, then fed the puck to a streaking Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) who roofed a shot passed Valtonen for his eighth goal of the year to put the Panthers on the board.
Less than a minute later, Jeromey Rancourt (Lewiston, Maine) fired a shot towards the net which was blocked by an Owls defender which caused the puck to deflect to the left side where Dante Moretti (Powell, Ohio) was able to one-time a shot from just outside the crease to double the Panthers lead.
Special teams played a crucial role in the middle stages of the second period with the Panthers defenseman Niks Krollis (Riga, Latvia) capitalizing on a short-handed goal in the closing stages of an Owls powerplay to put Plymouth up 3-0 with 9:24 remaining in the frame.
The scoring barrage would continue minutes later, this time with Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) converting on a man-advantage goals seconds into the expiration of a four-on-four.
Jacob Laurin (Stockholm, Sweden) and Redick both tacked on late second-period goals as the Panthers racked up six scores in the frame. Redick concluded the night with one goal and four assists.
Cooper Board (Salem, Mass.) scored the Owls lone goal on a two-man advantage for his team-leading ninth goal of the season. Justin Collins (Wilmington, Mass.) and Dan Long (Guilford, Conn.) registered assists on the play.
Payton Schaly (Orillia, Ontario) capped the scoring on the night with 46 second left in regulation time.
Valtonen finished the contest with 34 saves with Kevin Chandler (Hanover, Mass.) entering the game late in the second period to stop 13 shots on net. Brendahn Brawley (Morton, Penn.) piled up 31 saves for his 16th win of the season in 19 starts.
Westfield State travels to Worcester State for a MASCAC game on Saturday at 4:00 P.M. Plymouth State returns home to entertain UMass Dartmouth.