Men’s Hockey Battle to Stalemate at Framingham State, 2-2

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Hockey team met up with the Framingham State Rams at the Loring Arena this evening for a MASCAC matchup with some potential playoff implications. The Trailblazers entered the game in possession of the eighth and final seed in the MASCAC playoffs with Rivier only a half game back, and Framingham only a half game behind the Raiders. A late power play goal from Connor Nagy forced an overtime period. The OT concluded without a result so officially the game goes down as a tie, but the Rams picked up a possible tie breaker in the conference standing, winning a shoot-out 2-1 in four rounds.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Thursday, January 23, 2025
• Score: MCLA 2, Framingham 2 (OT)
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 2-13-1 (MASCAC 2-6-1) | Framingham State University Rams 1-12-2 (MASCAC 0-7-1)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Following a scoreless opening period, Framingham scored the first goal of the game a bit over four and a half minutes into the second period. Jake St. Barcelou (at 4:34, assisted by Kaleb Kinskey and Caleb Dusek) was credited with his fifth goal of the season.
• MCLA picked up an equalizer with a power play goal as the clocked ticked under 12 minutes remaining. After winning a faceoff just outside their defensive zone, the Rams attempted to clear the puck along the wall, only to find sophomore defenseman Shane Green (Bear, DE / Philadelphia Little Flyers) waiting for the puck. Green then reversed field with the puck, send it across the ice to sophomore forward Quinn Murphy (Champaign, IL / Philadelphia H.C.) along the right-side boards. Murphy sent the puck through center ice to sophomore forward Cade Herrera (Brentwood, CA / Seahawks H.C) near the left side wing. Hererra chipped and then followed the puck across the blueline and into the offensive zone where he just out skated two defenders to the puck and lifted a writer past the goalie's stick side shoulder. The goal was Herrera's fifth of the year, and second in as many games.
• Framingham retook the lead with about four and a half minutes remaining in regulation when Cameron St. Craig (15:24, Robert Bernier and Kinskey) scored a short-handed goal, going up 2-1.
• The lead was short lived as the Trailblazers answered back less than a minute later with a powerplay goal. Junior defenseman Connor Nagy (Trenton, MI / Finlandia University) saw his first shot go wide to the left of the goal, but the combination of sophomore forwards Sean Neu (Wake Forest, NC / Protec Jr. Ducks) and Addam Brunner (Hamburg, NY / Walpole Express) out battled a Framingham defender in the corner, getting the puck back out to Nagy at the right point. Nagy drifted in towards the net and flipped a wrist shot over the goalie's glove side shoulder.
• With the game knotted at two all after 60 minutes of play, the teams took to the ice for a wild five minute three-on-three overtime period that included only three faceoffs as it went end to end frequently. With less than 30 seconds in the extra period, sophomore goalie Mathew Gover (Atkinson, NH / East Coast Wizards) kept the MCLA's hopes alive, making a sprawling stop of Framingham's Nathan Gaines who had forced a turnover in the MCLA end and skated in unimpeded only to find the Gover up to the task.
• Much like the game, the overtime went to overtime and then still needed an extra round to reach a decision. Herrera scoring on MCLA's first shootout opportunity while the Rams' Scott Bugarin scored in the second round and both teams were stopped in the third round. Framingham would ultimately take the shootout when Brent Scott scored in the fourth round.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shots: MCLA 46, Framingham 40
• Saves: MCLA 38, Framingham 44
• Faceoffs Won: MCLA 44, Framingham 29
• Penalty/Minutes: MCLA 1/2:00, Framingham 5/21:00
• Power Plays: MCLA 1 for 3, Framingham 0 for 1

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when they play host to Salem for a MASCAC matchup with the Vikings at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink. The puck will drop at 5 p.m.

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