It took a second-period scrum in front of the net to wake up the home crowd and team, but that was all it took to light a fire under the Panthers and their faithful. Plymouth responded with scoring chance after scoring chance and found the back of the net seven times after the scrum to beat Fitchburg and advance to the MASCAC Finals on Saturday.
The first period was evenly played both ways. Fitchburg controlled the puck for most of the first frame, firing 13 shots on net. Senior goalie Jack Astedt (Angelholm, Sweden) held his crease throughout the period and kept everything in front of him. Fitchburg threatened to take the lead halfway through the period when a Plymouth penalty left the Panthers short-handed. The resulting Fitchburg power-play saw lots of action in front of the net, but Astedt and the penalty-kill did their job and the scoreboard remained unblemished. After the penalty, Plymouth settled down and started taking over the flow of the game. Two near goals on six shots were all they could muster for the first period, though, and both teams went into the intermission scoreless.
The second period saw Plymouth start out on the power-play. They came out firing, putting multiple shots on Fitchburg net-minder Randy Wolcott. Fitchburg answered with a few chances of their own, but neither team could break through. The game, up to this point, had had little to cheer for beside Astedt, but that changed when a scrum broke out in front of the net and both teams had players sent to the penalty box. The game changed from that point. Plymouth turned every up a notch and had multiple scoring opportunities as almost the entirety of the 4-on-4 action was inside the Fitchburg zone. Plymouth finally found the back of the net when they cleared space for freshman Zach Fox (Sandown, NH) who had time for an open shot from the left face-off dot that he snapped into the net. Plymouth controlled the game from then on out. Plymouth had the puck in the Fitchburg zone the rest of the period, and when senior Kyle Grecco (Hillside, IL) passed it back sophomore Zach Sarig (Reading, PA) off the face-off, Sarig never hesitated and buried a slapshot into the net for a goal. The two teams were physical the rest of the way, as the scrum turned up the intensity on both sides. The period ended with the Panthers up 2-0, and all the momentum in the building followed them into the locker-room.
The third period was more Plymouth dominance. They came out on the power-play again, and fired shot after shot on net to begin the period, and didn’t look like they were going to slow down. Senior Kyle Weiland (Hampden, ME) made it a 3-0 game early in the third. Fitchburg still had fight in them, and responded when Joseph Caveney carried the puck across mid-ice and through the Panther zone to put a pretty goal past Astedt. It was the only blemish in another great performance from the net-minder. If Fitchburg had hopes of a comeback, they were promptly stomped out Grecco who answered with his first goal of the game just 16 seconds after Fitchburg’s lone goal. It was all Plymouth the rest of the way. Freshman Colt Smelstor (Fairfax, VT) and senior Alex Cottle (West Chester, PA) both added goals late in the period, and Grecco scored his second goal of the game with 18 seconds left in the game, putting an explanation point on the end of this one.
Grecco led all scorers with 4 point, Fox added 3 points in the effort, and Cottle had two points of his own in to round out the leading scorers for the Panthers. Astedt turned in a great game, making some spectacular saves in the process of stopping 27 shots. The Panthers will host the MASCAC Finals this Saturday, March 2nd, and will be hosting the winner of the Salem State and UMass-Dartmouth semi-final game. The time of game has yet to be announced.