Worcester State Turns Back Men’s Hockey, 4-3

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Ice Hockey team returned to the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink this evening for a MASCAC matchup with the Worcester State University Lancers. Cade Herrera scored twice, and Christopher Gallagher added his team-high sixth goal before Worcester's Shane Prifel second goal of the night put the Lancers ahead for the final margin.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, January 11, 2025
• Score: Worcester 4, MCLA 3
• Records: Worcester State University Lancers 6-6-1 (MASCAC 3-3-1) | MCLA Trailblazers 1-11-0 (MASCAC 1-5-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first period was a back-and-forth affair. MCLA's sophomore goaltender Mathew Gover (Atkinson, NH / East Coast Wizards) and Worcester's Jakub Kubik were peppered with shots from all directions, before the teams combined for three goals in the space of 93 seconds.
• Sophomore forward Cade Herrera (Brentwood, CA / Seahawks H.C) opened the scoring just after the Trailblazers wrapped up a power play but before the Lancers' player could join the fray. Herrera cleaned up a rebound in front of the net with just over three minutes left in the period. Assists were credited to sophomore forward Quinn Murphy (Champaign, IL / Philadelphia H.C.) and sophomore defenseman Shane Green (Bear, DE / Philadelphia Little Flyers). The assists were Murphy's second and Green's fourth of the year.
• Worcester State wasted little time getting their first goal of the night, only a minute and seven seconds later. Shane Prifrel (at 18:16, assisted by Brian Clougherty) picked up the goal on a breakaway opportunity after Clougherty passed it from his own defensive end to Prifrel in the neutral zone.
• Not to be outdone, MCLA responded only 16 seconds later when Herrera knocked home his second goal of the game and third of the season after sophomore forward Easton Moore (Red Deer, AB / Florida Eels) chipped the puck off the stick of a Lancer defender who was attempting to cross in front of his net. With only the goalie between him and the goal, Herrera picked up the loose puck and ripped it past the Worcester netminder. The assist was Moore's second of the year, while the goal would set the score at 2-1 after the first period.
• The Lancers scored a pair of goals a little over half a minute apart in the first half of the second period. Matthew Nuzzolilo (7:23, Matthew Peckham) and Spencer Hecklinger (7:57. Anders Grongstad and Luc Fricchione) collected the goals, with Nuzzolilo getting the former and Hecklinger the latter.
• It was sophomore forward Christopher Gallagher (Albany. NY / Islanders H.C.) who found the equalizer for the Trailblazers after a scrum in the right-side corner ended with Gallagher in possession of the puck before he lit the lamp for his team-high sixth goal of the year. Through 40 minutes, the game was tied at three apiece.
• In the third period, the ice began to tip in Worcester's favor as they more than doubled up MCLA 16-7 on shots, and in the end, it would be a power-play goal for the Lancers that was the deciding factor. Officially, it was Prifrel (15:17, Grongstad) who cashed in the game-winner.
• Worcester's Kubik finished the night with 33 stops on 36 shots, improving his record to 2-3-1. Gover turned back 37 of 41 shots for his 11^th 30+ save game of the season but still fell to 1-11-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shots: Worcester 41, MCLA 36
• Saves: Worcester 33, MCLA 37
• Faceoffs Won: Worcester 35, MCLA 37
• Penalty/Minutes: Worcester 2/4:00, MCLA 4/8:00
• Power Plays: Worcester 1 for 4, MCLA 0 for 2

UP NEXT:

On Wednesday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Williams College for a non-conference matchup with the Ephs at Lansing Chapman Rink. Face off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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