PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Four different players scored goals, including sophomore Drake Longaker (San Jose, Calif.) and freshman Mark Happy (Sterling, Mass.) who each added an assist as the Plymouth State University hockey team staved off a late comeback attempt by Wentworth Institute of Technology in non-conference action at Hanaway Rink.
With the win the Panthers improve to 9-3-1 on the season while the Leopards fall to 4-8-3. It was the first game after a break for the holidays for both squads.
The hosts scored the only goals of the first period as Plymouth State staked itself to a 2-0 lead after 20:00 minutes of action. Happy got the Panthers on the board with his goal at 6:21, which was assisted by sophomore Tim LaRocque (Middleboro, Mass.) and freshman Christian LaCroix (Northford, Conn.). Freshman JR Barone (West Chester, Pa.) scored off a rebound of a freshman Jake Gerbner (Havertown, Pa.) shot, which was set up by Longmaker, at 17:34.
Special teams played a role in all three second-period goals as the Leopards clawed their way back into the contest. Sophomore Connor Busch (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) netted a power-play goal from juniors Jonny Spada (Glen Rock, N.J.) and Matthew Kennedy (Mount Pearl, N.L.) at 9:58. Junior Ethan Weiss (Troy, Mich.) evened the score at 2-all with his 5-on-3, power-play marker 69 seconds later, set up by sophomore CJ Grinnell (Burlington, Mass.).
With 1:58 remaining in the period, Longaker gave Plymouth State the lead for good as he scored a power-play goal from junior Tim Perron (Northboro, Mass.) and junior Quinn Carroll (Amherst, N.H.).
The Panthers took a 4-2 lead on an goal from senior Chris Zuccaro (Hudson, N.H.), whihc came off a rebound of a shot from Happy. That goal proved to be the game-winner as Wentworth used an extra-attacker goal from sophomore Connor Beaudet (Buffalo, N.Y.) – assisted by senior Jake McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) who won the faceoff and sent a pass to Beaudet whose initial shot was saved – with 14 seconds left to pull within one. On the ensuing faceoff, Plymouth State gained control and held on for the win.
Sophomore Thierry Messervier (Montreal, Que.) made 32 saves in the win while senior Ryan Hubbard (West Roxbury, Mass.) turned aside 30 shots for the Black & Gold who had a 35-34 shot advantage.
Wentworth heads to Saint Anselm tomorrow for a 4:00 p.m. faceoff against the Hawks.
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