No. 6/6 Endicott Drops Season Opener To Plymouth State, 3-2

BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 6/6 nationally ranked Endicott men's ice hockey team fell to Plymouth State University, 3-2, in non-conference action on Friday night at Raymond J. Bourque Arena. 

Tied 2-2 early in the third, Alec LeFave (Hudson, N.H.) buried home his own rebound chance in the slot after he received a centering pass from Ryan Stevens (Colleyville, Texas) on a 2-on-1 break at the 3:07 mark of the period. Chris Zuccaro (Hudson, N.H.) initiated the scoring opportunity with a clearance off the glass in the Panthers' defensive zone that found Stevens wide open near the red line, creating the odd-man rush. 

From there on out, Plymouth State netminder Evan Morelli (Reading, Mass.) stymied the Gulls offensively making 14 saves the rest of the way to preserve the win. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Plymouth State evened up the all-time series at 1-1-0.
• The Gulls are 0-1-2 in season openers. 

FOR ENDICOTT

• Anthony Petrella (Hilton, N.Y.) and Jack Musil (Skidby, England) both found the back of the net for the Gulls.
• Musil, Daniel Kucerovy (Bethel Park, Pa.), Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.), and Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) all had assists in the loss.
• Mark Specia (Ringwood, N.J.) had 21 saves (0-1-0, 3-1-0 career).
• Endicott held a 2-1 lead at the 13:33 mark of the second, but Plymouth State answered with the game-tying goal 12-seconds later before LeFave netted the game-winner.
• The Gulls outshot the Panthers, 37-24. 

FOR THE FOES

• Stevens led all student-athletes in the contest with two goals and one assist. Stevens opened up the scoring in the game with a tally at 10:10 of the first and buried another at 13:45 of the second.
• Matt Volonnino (Hackettstown, N.J.) dished out two assists, while Victor Bergstrom (Angelholm, Sweden) had one helper.
• Morelli compiled 35 saves in the win (1-0-0). 

WHAT'S NEXT 

No. 6/6 Endicott (0-1-0) will play a home-and-home series versus Wentworth on November 2 (away, 7 PM) and November 4 (home, 2 PM). Plymouth State (1-0-0) travels to Worcester State University on Tuesday, October 31 for its conference opener at 7 PM. 

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(Photo credit - David Le '10)