The Plymouth State Men’s Hockey team is moving onto the MASCAC Championship game after beating Worcester State, Tuesday night in the Semi-Final round. The match was never in reach for Worcester, as the Panther completely dominated the entire game, especially the second period, exploding for 5 goals and coming out on top with a 6-1 victory.
Senior Matt Volonnino (Hackettstown, N.J.) lead the way with two goals, both coming within the first 4 minutes of the second period. The scoring tallies came from Senior Tim Perron (Northborough, Mass.) in the first period, Volonnino, sophomore Henrik Axelson (Danderyd, Sweden), Volonnino again on the penalty kill, sophomore Jake Gerbner (Havertown, Pa.), and Sophomore JR Barone (West Chester, Pa.) on a power play chance.
Senior goalie Evan Morelli (Reading, Mass.) made 17 saves on the night and almost had the shut out until Worcester State scored halfway into the third period.
The highlight of the night came from Volonnino, whose second goal was scored in acrobatic fashion. Senior Ryan Stevens (Colleyville, Texas.) dumped the puck out of the defensive zone to Volonnino who had a one on one with a Worcester State defender. Volonnino spun around the defender and backhanded the puck past the goalie. The goal was impressive enough that it was featured at the #2 spot on Sportscenter’s Top 10 Plays list.
The Panthers now have their sights set on the MASCAC Championship game. This will be the 7th time they have made it to the big game. They will host 6 seeded Salem State on Saturday, March 2nd at 7pm.