Men’s ice hockey shuts out Corsairs in home opener
- Izabela Gage
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Izabela Gage
Sports Editor
The Framingham State Rams shut out the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs 5-0 in their non-conference home opener Nov. 6.
This win evens their overall record to 1-1.
The initial faceoff was won by the Corsairs, but the Rams gained possession of the puck, and senior Robert Bernier took the first shot on goal of the game, which was saved by UMD’s goalie Marshall McKallip.
UMD took the puck back into Framingham’s defensive zone and made a goal attempt on senior goaltender Owen Swanbon, but could not get it past the goal line.
After 4 minutes of fighting for the puck, the Corsairs set themselves up to try to break through Swanbon’s defense once again, but he stopped the shot with ease.
Junior Nathan Gines made a pass to freshman Connor McLachlan, who slid the puck right past McKallip’s pads, scoring his first collegiate career goal.
McLachlan said tallying his first goal “means a lot to me. It helps get all the tension off my back, and it helps the team head in the right direction.”
Following two shots on goal by junior Scott Bugarin and three by UMD, Framingham started on the power play after a hitting-from-behind penalty by the Corsairs.
Their defense remained strong through the penalty kill, and their offense took three shots on goal in 10 seconds once they regained possession of the puck.
Both teams fought hard to keep the puck in their offensive zones for the remainder of the first period, with Framingham receiving two minor penalties.
Bugarin won the faceoff at the start of the second period, but the Corsairs pushed the puck past the Rams’ blue line soon after.
Framingham was aggressive on offense, forcing the puck into UMD’s defensive zone, where Bernier slapped the puck past McKallip to deepen the deficit to 2-0 only 30 seconds into the period.
After another three consecutive shots on goal by the Corsairs, all of which were saved by Swanbon, the Rams earned another power play due to a hitting-from-behind penalty by UMD.
Captain Jake Barcelou, a senior, took advantage of this and found the back of the net unassisted, giving Framingham a 3-0 lead.
The Rams and the Corsairs switched off possession of the puck for the rest of the period until a tripping penalty put UMD back on the power play.
Despite being on the penalty kill, Framingham was able to push into UMD’s defensive zone, and Bugarin shot the puck to Bernier right in front of the net. He then sent it to Gines, who found a gap in McKallip’s defense and earned the Rams a four-point lead.
The Corsairs spent the remainder of the period fighting to find the back of the net and break their scoring drought, but Swanbon remained a brick wall, saving two more shots before the clock ran out.
UMD came back to the ice in the third period with a new sense of motivation, keeping the puck out of their offensive zone for the first half of the period.
They made eight goal attempts in 12 minutes, with the Rams being unable to make any shots on the Corsairs’ subbed-in goaltender Graham Burke.
At 13:27, freshman Aidan Elbrecht tried to slap shot the puck from right inside the blue line, but it was saved by Burke.
The Rams refused to let up, and attempts by Bugarin, sophomore Devin Shepherd, and junior Cameron Craig in the following two-and-a-half minutes unfortunately could not make it past Burke.
One minute later, sophomore Michael Kennedy made a breakaway, catching the Corsairs’ defense off guard. With only one defenseman in between him and the goalie, he was able to find the back of the net, scoring the last goal of the game.
The game ended with one last glove save by Swanbon with three seconds left, and the Rams rushed to the net to congratulate him.
Swanbon had an impressive performance in net, saving all 38 shots he faced. “I just stuck to my game and trusted my teammates. They were blocking a lot of shots out there, which made my life easy. I was just battling for them, and it was an overall great team effort.”
He said the team has been focusing on “sticking together for the full 60 minutes. … Just playing simple hockey, getting pucks past the goal line, going to work, and battling our butts off.”
Gines said, “With such a tight game with 38 to 25 shots, we focused on our defense first, making sure we clean up our defensive zone with great shot blocking and active sticks.”
He added this win “will help us build momentum for when it comes time to play MASCAC in conference games.”
McLachlan said he thinks this shutout win will let the other teams “know that we’re not going down without a fight. This is a whole new team this year, and we’re ready to prove ourselves.”
The Rams travel to UMass Dartmouth looking for another win against the Corsairs Nov. 8 in another non-conference game.
Swanbon said, “We’re going to keep playing our game and keep working hard in practice. Our coaches are putting a lot of trust in us and instilling a lot of good systems. … We’re just going to keep fighting until the end.”
Gines said as a team, they “are focusing on our defensive zone coverage, converting on the power play, and getting more shots on goal. I believe this team has what it takes to make a statement in the MASCAC, and we are hungry.”
