{"id":79762,"date":"2017-10-25T22:12:30","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T03:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=79762"},"modified":"2020-08-24T16:25:53","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T21:25:53","slug":"salem-state-looks-to-be-favorite-in-mascac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2017\/10\/25\/salem-state-looks-to-be-favorite-in-mascac\/","title":{"rendered":"Salem State looks to be favorite in MASCAC"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Casey<\/a>
Casey Shea of UMass Dartmouth. (UMass Dartmouth Athletics)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a slow start to the season due to a number of roster and injury challenges, the Salem State Vikings proved it’s not always about being great the entire season, it is about being great at the right time of the season. An 11-4-1 second half carried them past rival Plymouth State in the conference championship before they suffered a 3-1 loss to the eventual national champions from Norwich.<\/p>\n

The league has seen a familiar pairing over the past few years with SSU and PSU playing for the title, and according to the coaches, a similar outcome could be in store come late February, but there are a few others who feel like they have a shot at the title and that will make things interesting for the incumbent top seeds.<\/p>\n

The favorites<\/strong>
\nThe defending champions have a talented and deep roster returning starting in goal, where Jason Pucciarelli took over the number one role last season and was a big reason the Vikings emerged on top. Forwards Michael Casale and Derek Makimaa provide skill and leadership, while defenseman Callum Hofford looks to continue his strong offensive play and quarterbacking of the power play.<\/p>\n

The Panthers from Plymouth State aren’t going anywhere other than trying to get out of Salem State’s rearview mirror. Quinn Carroll, Matt Volonnino, Ryan Stevens, and Chris Zuccaro will be leaders in the room on the ice for the Panthers who hope to see some added maturity from their sophomore goaltenders, Evan Morelli and Thierry Messervier.<\/p>\n

The dark horse<\/strong>
\nEric Noack’s UMass Dartmouth Corsairs were a third-place team last year and will be relying heavily on their star performers to help take the team to another level as they wind down their collegiate careers. Seniors Mike Sones, Casey Shea, and Drew Michals will all need to be at the top of their game each night for UMD to challenge at the top of the standings.<\/p>\n

Players to watch<\/strong>
\nFitchburg State: Tyler Warila, forward; James Gordon, forward
\nFramingham State: Tyler Colacchio, forward; Jake Santorelli, defenseman
\nUMass – Dartmouth: Casey Shea, forward; Drew Michals,\u00a0 goalie
\nPlymouth State:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Ryan Stevens, forward; Chris Zuccaro, forward
\nSalem State: Michael Casale, forward; Jason Pucciarelli, goalie
\nWestfield State: Carl Greco, defenseman
\nWorcester State: Kyle Griffin, forward<\/p>\n

Predicted finish<\/strong>
\n1. Salem\u00a0 State
\n2. Plymouth State
\n3. UMass Dartmouth
\n4. Fitchburg\u00a0 State
\n5. Worcester State
\n6. Framingham State
\n7. Westfield State<\/p>\n

The top two teams have earned their place at the top, and the balance of the league is certainly looking to raise the level of their game to challenge what has been consistent over the past years: an end-of-year battle between Plymouth State and Salem State for the title. Will this be the year it changes?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a slow start to the season due to a number of roster and injury challenges, the Salem State Vikings proved it’s not always about being great the entire season, it is about being great at the right time of the season. An 11-4-1 second half carried them past rival Plymouth State in the conference […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":113440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[666],"tags":[820],"coauthors":[822],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSalem State looks to be favorite in MASCAC - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After a slow start to the season due to a number of roster and injury challenges, the Salem State Vikings proved it's not always about being great the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79762\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Salem State looks to be favorite in MASCAC - 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