Salem, MA –-- Salem State junior Giancarlo Capodanno (Mountainside, NJ) picked up two goals and two assists as the Vikings defeated 5-3 Worcester State at the Rockett Arena on Thursday evening in MASCAC Men's Ice Hockey action.

Sophomore goaltender Sam Avoine (Ste-Perpetue, Quebec) and first-year Ryan Sutliffe combined for 24 saves on 27 total shots as Salem State improved to 12-4-2 overall and 7-3-2 in the MASCAC. Lancer's junior netminder Bryan Kalczynski (Tonawanda, NY) turned away 42-of-47 shots on goal as Worcester State's record falls to 8-7-3 and drops to 5-6-1 in conference play.

Capodanno netted the first goal of the match-up at 1:12 into the first period when he capitalized on a rebound after a shot by third-year Ian Flanagain (New Hampton, NH). The Lancers responded when sophomore Jordan Roberts (Littleton, CO) served freshman Brendan Galley (Colorado Springs, CO) on a two-on-one situation to tie the game 1-1 at 11:48.

Second-year Brice Crook (Reno, NV) set up junior Nick Asterito (Philadelphia, PA) to put Worcester State ahead at 9:56 in the second period. Sam Cannata (Bozeman, MT) connected with Capodanno at the 10:48 mark to even the scoreboard at two goals each. However, the Lancers entered the second intermission with a 3-2 lead when Asterito found daylight behind Avoine at 14:38.

The Vikings equalizer came from third-year Nick Del Rosso (San Mateo, CA) when he blasted the puck from the blue line at 11:42. At 15:55 Capodanno sent the puck past Kalczynski for what would prove to be the game-winner.

Junior Michael Genoevese (Hingham, MA) scored a short-handed empty net goal in the waning minutes to seal the victory for Salem State as the Lancers tried to taked advantage of a power-play opportunity.

Capodanno's four-point effort makes him the conference's leader with a 28 points (13 G-15 A) while Asterito now leads Worcester State with 23 points (8 G-15 A).

Both teams will continued MASCAC play on the road on Saturday. Salem State travels to UMass Dartmouth to take on the Corsairs at 4:30 while the Lancers will end a four-game stretch at Plymouth State at 8 PM.

Release Courtesy of Salem State Sports Information