WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University men's ice hockey team earned their first conference victory in a 4-1 decision over the Framingham State Rams in Thursday night play at the Hart Recreation Center on the campus of Holy Cross.

With the win the Lancers advance to 1-3 and 1-1 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play, while the Rams dip to 1-2 and 0-2 in the conference.

The Rams controlled play in much of the first half of the first period.  However, the Lancers maintained control of the puck later in the period as Worcester's intensity picked up and physical play shook up Framingham.

In the first period, the Lancers outshot the Rams 12-9, but neither team capitalized on power plays with two for Framingham and three for Worcester.

The second period began with fast and furious play from Worcester State, owning the puck in their zone and putting hits on Framingham every play.

The gritty play by the Lancers paid off during a power play when co-captain Alex DeWitz (Oronoco , Minn.) found Kyle Griffin (Marlboro, Mass.) in the slot to put the Lancers up 1-0.

Hard work on the power play reaped another goal for the Lancers later in the second period. Andrew Etheridge (Burrillville, R.I.) took a wrist shot in the left faceoff circle to add a second goal for his team. Etheridge's assists came from Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.) and Mitchell Purdie (Cavan, Ont.).

Framingham State came out of the tunnel with a fire lit underneath themselves and scoring within the first few minutes of the third period on a power play. The Ram's Tyler Colacchio (Bellingham, Mass.) took a wrist shot from the slot, which rebounded to the stick of Jake McKinnon (Framingham, Mass.) and past the Lancer's goalie.

Worcester State responded minutes later when Etheridge passed to the point and defender Alex Taddeo (Franklin, Mass) took a slap shot ending top shelf to make the score 3-1 Lancers.

With under three minutes in the period, DeWitz got a big breakaway, deking past two Ram's defensemen, and finishing with the puck and himself in the net.

Despite letting four goals past his crease, Ram's Goalie Adam Calabrese (Philadelphia, Pa.) saved 30 shots from a tough Lancer offense. Worcester's Cory Lignelli (Glastonbury, Conn.) earned his first victory in goal, as he stopped 22 shots on the night.

The Lancers return to action this Saturday (Nov. 12) as they travel to Fitchburg State for another conference game. The Rams match up with Stonehill on the same date for a non-conference game on the road.

Release written by Bobby Costanzo | Sports Information Intern