Worcester, MA- Tonight's Worcester State Men's Ice Hockey Game (9-8-1, 6-5-1) is being played in honor of sophomore student-athlete Evan Armit, who was earlier this season diagnosed with Melanoma. The team has rallied around the cause, and with the help of the Rosen Cancer Awareness Fund, designed Black Jersey's to be worn during the game with donations and bids being accepted leading up to the game. Proceeds from tonight's game will go to the Armit Family and the Rosen Fund, created by Gregg '86 and Pam '87 Rosen, which aims to provide a robust curriculum that supports peer to peer education regarding early cancer detection. Raising Awareness in our young people, particularly Worcester State students in the field of public health, can effectively expedite these important educational initiatives to curb the prevalence of late stage cancer and increase longevity.
Final
Worcester State: 5
UMass-Dartmouth: 2
How it Happened:
Despite early offensive pressure from UMass-Dartmouth in the first period, Worcester State's defense stood strong, as goalie Senior Wyatt Freidlander (Lake Placid, NY) made numerous saves, recording a total of 9 in the first period. UMass-Dartmouth secured a power play when Worcester was called for a roughing penalty, and they took advantage of it when Noah Webster opened the scoring at 15:40. In response, Worcester stepped up their attacking attempts, but UMass's Graham Burke held his ground in goal, blocking their attempts. Throughout the period, both teams kept exchanging scoring opportunities, with multiple attempts missing or being blocked. Vincent Nicosia of UMass-Dartmouth had a tripping penalty, giving Worcester a power play opportunity late in the period, but they had trouble finding the gap to find their first goal. The opening period ended with UMass-Dartmouth maintaining their 1-0 lead, backed by strong goaltending from Burke.
In this intense contest, Worcester dominated much of the play, winning several crucial faceoffs and creating a lot of scoring opportunities. Senior Bringham Neuhold (Edmond, OK) fired several shots, one of which struck the pipe, as part of an attacking effort. Worcester broke through with goals from senior Shane Prifrel (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and first year Fredric Pinel (Beaumont, ON), both helped by teammates who maintained pressure on UMass-Dartmouth defense, despite excellent goalkeeping from Graham Burke. Worcester goalie Wyatt Friedlander held strong in goal as UMass-Dartmouth rallied with shots from Tyler Stewart and Kevin Johnston. Throughout, both teams had opportunities to capitalize on power plays. In the end, Worcester won the period 2-1, thanks to their aggressive approach and attacking determination.
Junior Anders Grongstad (Royal Oak, Michigan) extended Worcester the lead early in the third and final quarter, and graduate student Brian Clougherty (Lynn, MA) soon followed, solidifying Worcester's offensive control. Worcester's goalie, Friedlander, made critical saves to keep the lead despite UMass-Dartmouth's efforts, which included a goal by Hunter Scanlon with assistance from Tyler Stewart after pulling their keeper for the extra skater. Friedlander ended the night with a total of 33 saves. Senior Christian Phinney (Draper, Utah) helped Prifrel score a late goal as Worcester continued to take advantage of their opportunities. UMass-Dartmouth had many chances, but fell short, allowing Worcester State to bring home the win 5-2.
What's Next:
The Lancers (10-8-1, 7-5-1) remain on home ice on February 11th at 6:30pm when they host their second annual Dog Toy Toss Game. All spectators are invited to bring a new dog toy to the game and at the Lancers first goal of the game, all toys will be tossed onto the ice for collection and donation to the Worcester Animal Rescue League.