Seahawks grind out victory over Panthers

SEAHAWK MEN'S ICE HOCKEY RESULTS
Salve Regina 2, Plymouth State 1
Portsmouth Abbey - Portsmouth, R.I.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Summary
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. - Sophomore forward John McLean (North Andover, Mass.) scored his ninth goal of the season to break a 1-1 tie in the second period as the Salve Regina University men's ice hockey team defeated Plymouth State University 2-1 in non-conference action Tuesday evening.

Series and Streaks
The Panthers still own a 6-4-5 record in the all-time series.

Three Stars of the Game

1. Salve Regina sophomore John McLean scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 13:35 of the second period.
2. Plymouth senior Evan Morelli (Reading, Mass.) made 33 saves in the loss to fall to 9-5-3 between the pipes for the Panthers.
3. Salve Regina senior Blake Wojtala (Trenton, Mich.) made 12 saves, allowing one goal on a penalty shot, to pick up the win and improve to 10-5-2 in net on the season.

Key Stat of the Game
Salve Regina outshot Plymouth State 35-13.

Turning Point
A loose puck found its way to John McLean as he navigated the neutral zone. He carried the puck down the middle then looped out wide and snapped a shot on the net from long range, over the shoulder of Morelli and to the back of the net to break a 1-1 tie, late in the second period. In the third the Seahawks continued to limit the number of quality shots for the Panthers on goal, holding them to just six in the frame. Still, with it only a one-score game the door was very much still open for the Panthers who would just need one bounce to go their way. Still trailing by one with ninety seconds, remaining the Panthers wanted to pull Morelli for an extra attacker but as they did so were called for a charging penalty, negating an odd-man advantage. The Seahawks got caught with six men on the ice with 51 seconds left and Plymouth then pulled Morelli to skate 5-4 with an empty net, but could not find an equalizer and the Seahawks whittled down the remaining time in the period.

Quick Hits

• Matthew Kidney (Leonardo, N.J.) got the scoring started 4:47 in the first period when he wristed home a loose puck in the slot for his second goal of the season.
• The Panthers came into the game averaging 4.06 goals per game and were held to just a single goal. That lone tally came on a penalty shot. Ryan Stevens (Colleyville, Texas) was pulled down from behind on a breakaway and was awarded the shot, which he snuck past Wojtala to tie the game 1-1 in the first period.
• Neither team could capitalize on the powerplay. The Seahawks went 0-for-3 while the Panthers went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

Next Up
Salve Regina (11-5-2, 7-2-1 CCC) travels to play Western New England on Friday, January 26, at 7:00 p.m., in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup. Plymouth State (9-5-3) travels to face Framingham State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.