Sara Senesac
Sports Editor
The Rams’ ice hockey team hosted the Salem State Vikings for a conference matchup Jan. 25.
Less than one minute into play, Salem’s Connor Woolley snuck one in to put the Vikings on the board early.
A few minutes later, sophomore Bryan Whelan scored with a wrist-shot to bring the match to a 1-1 tie at the five-minute mark.
The Vikings scored once more to take the lead just a short 30 seconds later, leaving the Rams trailing by one at the end of the first period.
Salem extended their lead once more early in the second when Richard Coyle scored oN a pass from Matt Yianacopolous.
Freshman Matthew Paiotti capitalized on a Rams powerplay in the third, where he scored oN a rebound and cut the Vikings’ lead to one.
With less than seven minutes to play, a pass from junior Soren Colstrup allowed Paiotti to secure his second goal of the game, and tie the match 3-3.
Colstrup said, “Matt Paiotti had a really nice game, getting two goals for us in the third period. Blake Carleson also played great in net. He was able to stop the bleeding early on.”
Neither team was able to score in overtime, and the match ended with a 3-3 tie between Framingham and Salem.
Colstrup added, “[It] was a fun game to play in. We didn’t start off the way we wanted ... but it was nice that we were able to claw our way back to a tie by the end of the game.”
The Rams traveled to New Hampshire to take on the New England College Pilgrims for non-conference action Jan. 28.
The Pilgrims set the tone early, scoring their first goal just 35 seconds into the game.
NEC dominated most of the first period, outshooting the Rams 20-4. They managed to secure an additional goal in the last minute of play, leaving the Rams to trail by two points heading into the second.
Four minutes into the second period, junior Brenden Williams scored off a pass from classmate Walker Hamilton, cutting the Pilgrims’ lead in half.
NEC responded shortly after, extending their lead to 3-1 over Framingham. The Pilgrims managed to score three more goals by the end of the match, securing a 6-1 victory over the Rams.
Colstrup said, “Tuesday’s game was tough ... It was a tough loss losing 6-1 to a non-conference opponent, but we’re looking forward to the last seven conference games of the year, which sets us up to still make the playoffs if we finish on a good note.
“The one bright side was Greg Harney, who played unbelievable,” Colstrup added. Harney totaled 48 saves for the Rams by the end of the match.
They are now 2-14-2 overall and 1-9-1 in the MASCAC. Framingham hosts UMass Dartmouth for a MASCAC game Feb. 6.
[Editor’s Note: Soren Colstrup is a staff writer for The Gatepost.]