Auburn, MA --- Plymouth State junior Kyle Weiland (Hamden, ME) potted the game winning goal at 1:20 of the overtime period to help the Panthers defeat Worcester State, 5-4, in MASCAC men's ice hockey action this evening at Horgan Memorial Rink.
PSU improves to 14-6-2 on the season and 11-3-2 in league play while the Lancers slip to 8-12-3 and 5-10-2 in conference action.
WSU grabbed the early lead in the contest at 4:49 of the first period as sophomore Jordan Roberts (Littleton, CO) scored off of a rebound with assists by classmates Derek Serbon (Crown Point, IN) and Ryan Quirk (Brockton, MA).
Plymouth State would answer with just over three minutes left in the first as sophomore Andrew Douse (Cape Coral, FL) scored his first collegiate goal to tie the score at 1-1.
The Lancers responded just over a minute later when freshman Taylor Laneville (Edmonds, WA) scored from the right circle to put WSU ahead 2-1, which would stand into the first intermission.
First-year Stephen Rock (Tulsa, OK) helped Worcester State add to their lead midway through the second stanza on his eighth goal of the season at 10:23 to put WSU on top 3-1.
The Panthers sliced into the deficit just over a minute later at 11:29 as junior Tim Visich (Mount Pleasant, MI) scored his first goal of the year to cut the score to 3-2.
PSU then took advantage one of their three power play opportunities when sophomore Travis Stevens (Montclair, CA) cleaned up a rebound in front of the net at 13:54 of the second period to tie the score 3-3.
The Blue and Gold answered just 17 seconds later as Roberts tipped in a shot by junior Paul Conceison (Burlington, MA) to put the Lancers ahead 4-3. WSU staved off the Panthers for the remainder of the period to go into the intermission holding one goal edge.
With the extra man advantage, Plymouth State equalized the game when Stevens scored his second goal of the contest making the score 4-4 at 9:15 of the third period.
Both squads would battle back-and-forth for the remainder of the period, but to no avail as additional time was needed to settle the score.
Weiland's goal came just over a minute into the extra session as he fired a shot on goal that was initially stopped in the crease, but the loose puck trickled over the goal line for the game-clinching tally.
PSU junior goaltender Jack Astedt (Angelholm, Sweeden) stopped 25 shots while WSU senior net minder Bryan Kalczynski (Tonawanda, NY) pushed aside 40 shots in the setback.
Plymouth State held a commanding edge in shots (45-29) including an 18-9 clip in the second period. They also converted two of their four power-play chances while the Lancers were unable to score with the extra man advantage (0-for-4).
Before the game, four Worcester State seniors were honored on "Senior Night" for playing in their final home game. The four seniors recognized were John Cahalane (Tewskbury, MA), Tim D'Orazio (Jamison, PA), Nick Asterito (Philadelphia, PA) and Kalczynski.
Both teams continue MASCAC play on Tuesday as Worcester State travels to Salem State for a 7 PM puck-drop while the Panthers host UMass Dartmouth for a 5:30 PM affair.
