On Saturday, Plymouth State traveled to Worcester State and pinned a 7-0 defeat on the home team.
Outside of maybe the margin, there was absolutely nothing surprising about this. The Panthers have now gone 39 games without losing to a MASCAC opponent, a stretch that dates back to February of 2022..
They’ve also won the last four MASCAC titles. That’s a streak that will end – at the latest – in 2025-26, when the program moves to the Little East Conference.
At some point, the MASCAC spotlight will shift away from sparkling Hanaway Rink in Plymouth, N.H. Our takeaways examine whether it will be sooner or later.
Freshmen boosting UMass Dartmouth, Westfield State
UMD is enjoying its best season in years under eighth-year coach Erik Noack. One reason for that is impact freshman forward Collin Patterson.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Florida native has already produced a team-high 12 goals and 26 points, numbers that make him the second highest-scoring freshman in the nation.
He’s teamed with senior Michael Perrone (9-14-23) to give the Corsairs (12-7, 10-5 MASCAC) one of the league’s most dynamic lines.
Overshadowed a bit by perennial champ Plymouth State leaving the MASCAC in two seasons is that UMass Dartmouth will join them, comprising the new LEC along with UMass Boston, Southern Maine and Vermont State-Castleton from the NEHC, and a new program at Keene State.
Westfield State, meanwhile, sits in fourth place at 8-6-1 (11-7-1 overall). The Owls’ top scorers are a pair of freshmen from Quebec: Emile Pichette (8-15-23) and Christopher Miraldo (15-6-21).
Dean Fuller wins 600th game at Fitchburg State
Around the time Dean Fuller was coaching his first game at Fitchburg State University – then known as Fitchburg State College – the nation was about to elect Ronald Reagan to a second term as president.
Fuller reached a major coaching milestone at the program he played for on Saturday, winning his 600th career game, 5-2 at Mass. College of Liberal Arts. He is just the third D-3 coach to reach that milestone and owns a career record of 600-363-67.
In a league dominated by Plymouth the last several years, the Falcons have often positioned themselves as the No. 1 challenger. This season is no different, as they sit in third place with a 9-4-2 league record (10-7-2 overall).
One reason for that is their young goalie tandem. Freshman Frederick Soderberg (2.57 GAA, .929 save percentage) has pushed incumbent sophomore Max Macchioni of North Kingstown, R.I. (2.57, .915).
Can anybody challenge Plymouth this season?
Challenge? Yes. Unseat? Probably not.
Led by sophomore Will Redick, the Division 3 leader in goals (20) and points (42), the Panthers (16-1-2, 13-0-2 MASCAC) boast the second-highest scoring offense in the country, their 5.11 goals per game behind only reigning NCAA champion Hobart.
Of their 13 league wins, 10 have been by three goals or more. Eleven players have already produced at least 13 points.
Should they reach another NCAA tournament, the question will be whether they’ve been tested enough to make a run. Plymouth State is 0-5 all-time in the NCAAs.
But first things first. The Panthers will try to make it 40 straight league games without a loss on Thursday when they play at Westfield State. The Owls were the last team to beat them in MASCAC play, on Feb. 15, 2022.
@MikeZhe603
mzhe@hockeyjournal.com
