Cassidy records his first goal of the season

PLYMOUTH, N.H. (November 4, 2017) – The Stonehill College men's ice hockey team fell to Plymouth State University, 5-1, in its season opener Saturday night at Hanaway Rink.

Stonehill (0-1-0, 0-0-0 NE10) saw sophomore Conor Cassidy (Wilmington, Delaware/Canterbury and Kents Hill) record the lone goal. Junior Billy Palmer (Cranston, Rhode Island/Bishop Hendricken) tallied 33 saves in the first game of the season.

Plymouth State (2-1-0) saw Chris Zuccaro score two goals and one assist, while Quinn Carroll, Victor Bergstrom, and Tim Perron tallied the other goals. Cam Cundy, Matt Volonnino, Bergstrom, Michael Covach, Drake Longaker, and Ludvig Steenberg each recorded an assist in the victory.  

The Panthers had the advantage in the first period as they slapped 20 shots at the cage compared to Skyhawks' 10. The Skyhawks would not allow a goal until 12:38 into the first period, when Zuccaro slide the puck past Palmer for a 1-0 advantage. Plymouth State also killed two penalties in the first frame, as Stonehill was unable to score an equalizer with a man advantage.

Late in the second period, the Panthers attacked with four goals in under three minutes. Cundy dished it off to Carroll at 17:22, while Zuccaro put another one in the back of the cage on a power play goal at 18:17, 3-0. Bergstrom followed up a minute later with a goal at 19:28 and Perron added the Panther's final goal 30 seconds later at 19:58 in another power play situation.

Two minutes into the third period, Cassidy drove the puck in between the pipes to cut the deficit to four, 5-1, but Stonehill was unable to get anymore on the board before time expired. The Panthers held the shot total at the end of the game, 38-18, as they also won 41 of the 64 total faceoffs.

Stonehill hosts Assumption College for its home opener at Foxboro Sports Center on Tuesday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m. for its first conference game.

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