Gover Stops 70, Herrera Scores Three, Men’s Hockey Still Fall to #15 Plymouth State

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Ice Hockey team continued to experience some growing pains this evening as they played host to the 15th-ranked Plymouth State for a MASCAC showdown at the Peter. W. Foote Veterans Memorial Ice Rink. MCLA goaltender Mathew Gover stopped the highest number of shots by any goaltender in DIII this season, and Cade Herrera scored three times, but the MASCAC-leading Panthers still took home the win.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024
• Score: Plymouth State 7, MCLA 4
• Records: Plymouth State Panthers 17-2-2 (MASCAC 14-1-2) | MCLA Trailblazers 4-16-1 (MASCAC 2-14-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• MCLA dug themselves into a large hole in the first period, allowing three goals in the opening period, and then played from behind the entire night. The first goal came just under six minutes into play when Cam Patton (at 5:55, assisted by Carson Lanceleve and Will Pray) found the back of the net. Will Redick (7:42, Pray and 13:15, Ethan Stuckless) scored the next two goals to cap the first-period scoring.
• MCLA responded by scoring three of the next four goals. All three were scored by Cade Herrera (5:42, Ogborn, 11:37, unassisted, and 15:50, Easton Moore and Sean Schifferl). It was Herrera's second hat trick of the season, following his showing at UMass-Dartmouth back in November.
• Plymouth State scored two more goals in the second period that were credited to Payton Schaly (10:20, Severi Sulonen and Rider McCallum) and David Matousek (16:37, Patton & Patrick O'Connell) to lead 5-3 at the second intermission.
• The Panthers stretched their lead further, scoring the first two goals of the final frame. The first went to Connor Tait (9:12, Pray and Redick), while the second was Anton Jellvik (12:32, Lanceleve and Ethan Stuckless). Quinn Murphy (15:12, Schifferl and Shane Green) added a power-play goal for the Trailblazers to set the final score.
• MCLA's Mathew Gover stopped a season-high for all of DIII 70 shots, topping the previous high held by Southern Maine's Kyle Penton and SUNY Morrisville's Garrett Boyonoski with 63 by more than 10%. It was the second time this season that Gover has stopped 60 or more shots, and the fourth time he has stopped 50 or more. Despite that herculean effort, Gover's season record still drops to 3-13-1. Plymouth State's Connor Strobel made his collegiate debut and stopped 18 of 22 shots to earn his first win to go to 1-0-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shots: Plymouth 77, MCLA 22
• Saves: Plymouth 18, MCLA 70
• Faceoffs Won: Plymouth 46, MCLA 37
• Penalty/Minutes: Plymouth 3/6:00, MCLA 6/12:00
• Power Plays: Plymouth 0 for 5, MCLA 1 for 2

UP NEXT:

On Thursday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Salem State for a MASCAC matchup with the Vikings at the Rockett Arena. The puck will drop at 7 p.m.

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