Riding a already impressive 8-0-1 record in their last nine games, and looking to clinch the first conference championship in the forty-year history of the program, the number one seeded Plymouth State Panthers hosted number two Salem State Vikings before a packed house at Hanaway Rink last Saturday night.
The Panthers got on the board early in the consistently when Phil Arnone (Litchfield, N.H.) snagged the back after first year Zack Sarig (Reading, PA) went high over the net, Arnone knocked it home for his ninth goal of the season to put Plymouth State up 1-0 at the end of the first period.
The Vikings answered back early into the 2nd, scoring two goals within three minutes of each other to take the lead. Plymouth State was able to pull even again when junior JC Richardson (Fort Collins, CO) scored on the power play at 15:56 to put the score at 2-2. The Vikings scored again with less then a minute to go in the middle period to take the lead going into the final intermission.
The Panthers were able to pull even again when Dave Walters (Ottawa, Ont.) scored at 9:19 to the even the score at 3-3. The Vikings only needed 27 seconds to regain the lead when one of their players scored on a partial breakaway to give the Vikings the lead again at 4-3 with a little over ten minutes left to play in the game. The Panthers refused to go down without a fight when junior Phil Moore (Lower Onslow, NS) scored with only 2:30 left in regulation to send the game into overtime.
Both teams played to a draw in the first OT period, thanks in part to the fantastic play of the goalies on both ends of the ice. The 2nd OT period saw the Panthers forced to go on the penalty kill, making the last few minutes especially nerve wracking. But, the Panthers were able to kill off the penalty, and a minute later, junior Kyle Weiland (Hampden, ME_ scored the game-winning goal to secure the victory and the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship. Weiland was also named game MVP during the award ceremony after the game.
The victory gave the top-seeded Panthers the MASCAC’s first automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. The tournament was to kick off Wednesday as Plymouth State was set to host Wentworth Institute of Technology at home.