Worcester, Mass. (February 23) -- The Assumption College Ice Dogs dropped Worcester State, 5-2, on senior night at the Buffone Arena on Thursday night in the Ice Dogs regular season finale.
Nick Blanchette (Stuart, Fla./Worcester Academy) picked up his 30th career victory to move into sole possession of second place on the Assumption career list as he turned away all 30 shots he faced in the victory. Senior goaltender Steve DiDomenico (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) replaced Blanchette for the final period and turned away 14 shots.
Fellow senior Taylor Larsen (Blackstone, Mass./Worcester Academy) scored two goals and assisted another to pick up three points on the night, while senior defenseman Kevin Glanzman (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) picked up three assists on the evening.
Sophomore forward Kyle Zobler (Millbury, Mass./New Hampton) also got into the scoring action with three points on a goal and two assists.
Assumption got out to a fast start with three first period goals. Larsen started the scoring with a goal at the 8:51 mark, assisted by Glanzman and Zobler.
Nick Mattiello (Johnston, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) then notched his 12th goal of the season, assisted by Mike Heyde (Natick, Mass./Natick) and freshman Joe Arcieri (Newmarket, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas).
Heyde notched his own marker at 18:17 into the period, assisted by Arcieri and Mike Janson (Ridgewood, N.J./Bergen Catholic).
After a scoreless second period, Assumption extended its lead on a goal by Zobler, assisted by Glanzman and Larsen. The Ice Dogs extended the lead to five on Larsen's second goal of the game, 10:11 into the period, assisted by Glanzman and Zobler.
Worcester State cut into the lead with two goals in the final seven minutes of the game, giving the Ice Dogs the 5-2 lead.
Prior to the game, the Ice Dogs honored seniors Blachette, DiDomenico, Glanzman, Larsen, Mike Looney (Shrewsbury, Mass./Saint John's), and Pat O'Kane (Hollis, N.H./Bishop Guertin), as part of senior day.
Assumption wraps up the regular season with a 13-10-1 record overall.
The Ice Dogs return to the Buffone Arena to host a Northeast-10 semifinal playoff game against Stonehill College on Saturday, February 25th. The puck will drop at 5:30 p.m. in Worcester, Mass. This will mark the fifth meeting between the teams this season, with Assumption holding a 3-1 lead in the series this season.
