Plymouth Rallies from Three-Goal Deficit to Drop Owls in Conference Opener

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year forward Ryan O'Halloran (Burlington, Mass.) scored a pair of goals, but Plymouth State rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Owls 6-3 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass. on Thursday night.

Plymouth State wins their second straight conference game, improving to 2-2-1 overall and 2-0 in the MASCAC. Westfield State drops their conference opener, falling to 2-2 on the season.

The Owls got the scoring started 4:50 into the first period when first-year forward Cooper Board (Salem, Mass.) skated down the left side of the ice and rocketed a shot that stung the top of the netting and knocked the Gatorade bottle off the top to put Westfield in front, 1-0.  Justin Collins (Wilmington, Mass.) and Brett Williams (Middleboro, Mass.) recorded assists on the Board tally.

Five minutes later, junior Gianluca Marini (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) possessed the puck into the attacking zone then slotted a pass through the crease to O'Halloran who backhanded a shot past the outstretched Brendahn Brawley (Morton, Penn.) to double the Owls lead.

O'Halloran recorded his second goal of the game and the third score of the period for Westfield when he collected a loose puck in front of the net and then quickly flipped the puck into the top left corner of the net to push the Owls lead to 3-0 heading into the first intermission.

Plymouth answered the fast start for the Owls with a three-goal period of their own in the second, scoring thirty seconds into the second frame and capitalizing on a man-advantage penalty for the Owls that carried over from the first period. Senior Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) skated down the left side and fired a shot that rang off the post, which then deflected towards the corner boards where Carson Lanceleve (Stewiacke, Nova Scotia) tapped the puck back to Abbate who then skated in tight towards the net and roofed a shot into the top left corner to get the Panthers on the board. 

The Panthers surge continued just two and a half minutes later when Matt Tartaglio (Houston, Texas) won a puck battle in the neutral zone, setting up a two-on-one opportunity for Plymouth. Tartaglio skated into the zone and backhanded a pass to a streaking Kyler Harding (Wilmington, N.C.) who ripped a one-timer over the left shoulder of Owls goalie Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) to cut the Westfield lead to one with about 16 minutes left in the second period.

Plymouth would find the equalizing goal midway through the second period, connecting on their second power play goal of the night. Looking patiently for a passing lane, Abbate was able to wrist a pass from the right side of the attacking end to Lanceleve who was lurking at the back post and was able to settle the feed and deposit the game-tying goal.

Lanceleve tallied his second of the night and the game-winner just 1:30 into the third period. Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, NFLD) redirected a shot from the boards on net, which was initially saved by Valtonen, but the puck trickled towards the left side of the crease where Lanceleve was able to score the Panthers' fourth goal of the contest.

Westfield got their best scoring opportunity in the third period midway through the frame, with Marini rocketing a one timer off the crossbar and out of play with 12:21 left in the game.

Plymouth distanced themselves down the final stretch with a pair of goals from Connor Tait (Boyds, MD) and Colin Stevens (Concord, N.H.).

Special teams played a critical role in the outcome of the game with the Panthers taking advantage by scoring three power play goals in five attempts. The Owls were held scoreless in three man-advantage opportunities.

The Panthers held a heavy shot advantage throughout, finishing with 55 shots to Westfield's 26. Valtonen piled up 49 saves in the losing decision with Brawley stopping 23 shots on net.

Westfield will return to action next Thursday as the Owls host Salem State in a MASCAC game from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass. with puck drop at 7:35 P.M. Plymouth will return home to face UMass Dartmouth in MASCAC play on Saturday at 7:00 P.M.