Worcester, MA- Following a close battle with Westfield State this past Thursday, the Worcester State Men's Ice Hockey (4-10, 3-7) were looking for the first conference victory of 2024. In their previous matchup with UMass-Dartmouth (8-6, 6-4), the Lancers fell 4-1 in a penalty fueled matchup. Worcester entered the night's game aimed at revenge for the early season loss.
Final- OT
Worcester State: 3
UMass-Dartmouth: 4
The first period action would see two evenly matched teams skating across the ice. Worcester would give up an early penalty but the defense was ready for the battle keeping the Corsairs off the board. It would take the final two minutes of the period for the first score, as the Corsairs Collin Patterson finally found a gap in Lancers defense to put Dartmouth up 1-0. A late power play on the Corsair would give the Lancers an edge though going into the second and with the Lancers taking the 18-13 advantage in shots on goal in the first, the momentum was riding high as time clicked away.
The second period would not go as hoped for though as the Corsair's not only closed out the power play but also scored their second goal three minutes into the period to see the score move to 2-0. Worcester refused to sit in their skates long though when just about a minute later, Christian Phinney (Drape, UT) would find the first goal for the Lancers off the passes from senior Brian Clougherty (Lynn, MA) and first year Brady Carpenter (Peabody, MA). The Corsairs would look to regain their lead when they were awarded a power play as Worcester was ready for the attempt and kept them from the back of the net to preserve the one goal difference. The game would again go back and forth before UMass-Dartmouth grabbed their third goal with just over six minutes in the period to grab the 3-1 lead. Both teams would settle down for a stretch but Worcester refused to leave the period without again cutting into the lead when sophomore Shane Prifrel (Inver Grove Heights, MN) cut the lead down to one off a pass from graduate student Brendan Ronan (Saugus, MA) and Brigham Neuhold (Edmond, OK).
The third period was set to be a battle to the finish with the Corsairs grabbing the first power play opportunity just a few minutes into the period , but the Lancers held them off as they prepared to grab the win. The third period was a shot for shot battle between the teams, with just over five minutes left the Lancers would finally find the tying goal as Ronan sent the puck flying past Marshall McKallip, from a pass from junior Matthew Kowal (Munson, MA) after the Corsairs were awarded another penalty in the game. An additional penalty just a few moments later would give Worcester the chance to take the lead, but the Corsairs learned from the last attempt and buttoned it up, preventing Worcester from grabbing the lead and carrying a 3-3 game into OT.
It would take just a minute and a half into OT for the Corsairs to claim the victory at 4-3.
Worcester moved to (4-11,3-8) on the night as UMass- Dartmouth now sits at (9-6, 7-4). Worcester State will return to action this Thursday, January 18th when they head to Fitchburg State for a 7pm start while UMD will journey to Salem State.