Auburn, MA --- Worcester State sophomore goaltender Salvatore Tecci (Franklin, MA/Long Beach Bombers) turned aside 42 shots to help lead the Lancers to a 3-2 victory over Salem State in MASCAC men's ice hockey action this evening at Horgan Memorial Rink.
The Vikings who came into tonight's contest leading the conference in points (15) fall to 7-4-1 in league play and 10-8-1 overall while Worcester State improves to 4-7-1 in the MASCAC and 8-8-1 on the season.
Salem State jumped out to the early 1-0 edge when freshman John Needham (Medford, MA/Valley Jr. Warriors) came from the back of the net and slipped the puck past Tecci with a wrap-around score at the 6:39 mark of the opening frame.
WSU answered at the 10:07 mark as junior Taylor Laneville (Edmonds, WA/Helena Bighorns) grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone and deposited it into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.
Skating with a purpose to start off the middle frame, the Lancers used the man advantage to gain the 2-1 lead when senior Curtis Martin (Okotos, Alberta/San Diego Gulls) beat the goalie stick side with a wrist shot from the right dot just 12 ticks into the second period for his team-leading eighth tally of the campaign.
Worcester State expanded their lead at the 7:48 mark as sophomore Joe White (Wonder Lake, IL/Southern Oregon Spartans) beat Salem State senior goaltender Ryan Sutliffe (Las Vegas, NV) five-hole with a close range wrist shot for the 3-1 score.
Junior Andrew Bates (Marblehead, MA/Boston Jr Bulldogs) and classmate Cody Osburn (Sacramento, CA/Fresno Monsters) both added assists on the eventual match-cliniching tally
The Vikings were poised for a comeback in the final stanza and took advantage of a power play to cut the deficit in half at the 3:02 mark when sophomore Andrew Bettencourt (Riverside, RI/Philadelphia Revolution) lit the lamp for the 3-2 margin.
Bettencourt's goal completely shifted momentum as Salem State dominated the pace of play for the remaining 17 minutes of game action as the visitors ended up outshooting their opponents, 22-5.
However, they were unable to equalize the contest which included the final 1:04 with an extra attacker on the ice. Tecci was a brick wall and registered an eye-popping 21 saves in the final period to secure the victory.
The Vikings outshot Worcester State, 44-18, and each team registered one power play goal on four chances
Tecci improved his record to 5-5-1 with the victory. Sutliffe stopped seven shots and saw his record fall to 10-5-1 before he was relieved by freshman Joe Cerulo (Wakefield, MA/New England Wolves) who registered eight saves over the final period and a half.
Both teams return to action Thursday as the Lancers remain home to face-off with UMass Dartmouth at 5:45 PM while Salem State travels to Plymouth State for a 6 PM contest.
Story By John Hanna --- Sports Information Graduate Assistant
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