WORCESTER, Mass. – Henry Bruckner (Franklin, Mass.) scored twice and Jakub Kubik (Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic) made 15 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Worcester State men's ice hockey team defeated Framingham State 4-0 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Monday afternoon at Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center.
With the win, the Lancers (11-12-2, 8-8-2 MASCAC) clinch the #3 seed in the conference tournament, and will host a quarterfinal game on Saturday, February 26th at 4:20 PM. The Rams (2-19-1, 1-15-1 MASCAC) will enter the tournament as the #7 seed and be on the road against Fitchburg State to open their postseason.
Bruckner scored the eventual game-winner three minutes into the second period after the teams played a scoreless opening twenty minutes. He would add an insurance goal with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation and now has five goals on the season.
Brendan Ronan (Saugus, Mass.) added a goal and an assist for the Lancers, who are 2-1-1 in their last four games and 4-2-1 in their last seven.
Ronan helped set up Bruckner's opening goal, feeding the puck to Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass.), who delivered a perfect pass that Bruckner snapped into the back of the net.
Max Roth (Chicago, Ill.) doubled the Lancer's lead with a powerplay goal seven minutes into the second period, beating Blake Carlson (Clermont, Fla.) from the point with the extra skater.
Nine minutes into the third, Ronan added to the lead again, this time scoring on a shorthanded breakaway while helping Cody Porcello (Melrose, Mass.) get his first collegiate point with the assist.
Kubik improves to 6-6-2 between the pipes for the Lancers, who had a 27-15 edge in shots. Worcester State was 2-4 on the powerplay while killing off the only two penalties they were called for, both in the third period.
Carlson made 23 saves in net for the Rams, as Framingham drops their second straight. They will play their regular season tomorrow at Salem State with puck drop at 7:00 PM.