Plymouth State has 'a little more of everything,' including the nation's top scorer
Jan. 27—PLYMOUTH — The way coach Craig Russell sees it, the Plymouth State University men's hockey team needs more games like its 4-3 victory over Salem State University Thursday night.
Coupled with Saturday's 7-0 victory over Worcester State, the No. 15 Panthers are 16-1-2 overall and 13-0-2 in Massachusetts Collegiate Athletic Conference. PSU's unbeaten streak is 15 games.
Of their 16 victories, though, only five have been decided by one or two goals. Before Thursday, PSU had outscored its previous four MASCAC opponents, 27-5.
Plymouth State, Russell said, has improved across the board from last year's group that set the program's single-season wins record (23-4-1), went 18-0-0 in MASCAC regular-season play and won its fourth straight conference tournament title. Then the Panthers fell to the University of New England in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament for the second straight season.
"I feel like this year's team is built really well for tournament play," said Russell, a 14th-year coach, after Thursday's win. "I think we're a little bit more mobile in our defensive group. I think up front we're a little bit quicker, a little bit deeper.
"I just think this team has got a little bit more of everything — not a bunch but just enough to make a big difference (to the point) when we start to play those bigger teams, we're not the underdog."
Plymouth State ranked second in Division III in goals per game (five) after Thursday's win.
In his first game back from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for three games, Panthers senior captain Anton Jellvik scored the game-winning goal on a top-shelf shot 5:10 into the third period.
Plymouth State sophomore center Will Redick, who led the NCAA (any division) in goals per game (1.06) and points per game (2.29) after Thursday, notched a goal and an assist.
Redick, of Collingwood, Ontario, entered Saturday with a MASCAC-leading 18 goals and 21 assists over 16 games. He posted 11 goals and 20 assists in 21 games as a freshman while skating with 2023 MASCAC Player of the Year Myles Abbate, who led the conference with 39 points as a senior last year (15 goals, 24 assists), and Connor Tait.
"He's our best player, so him carrying this load has been amazing for us," said Plymouth State senior captain Colin Tracy, a defenseman from Bow. "Everyone's got the confidence that Will's going to do something. If we're having a bad game, all he needs is one touch, one shift to change the tide of a game. He's so dynamic that you never know what he's going to do and you always have the confidence in him to do something."
Russell said Redick's skating and stick skills are elite and that he has a high hockey IQ.
Redick centers the Panthers' top line with Tait (12 goals and 11 assists through 18 games) and freshman left wing Will Pray (seven goals and 10 assists through 17 games).
"He's always around the puck," Russell said of Redick. "Obviously, his skating gets him there, but he's so quick and when he's moving and coming out of our zone through the neutral zone, that's when he's the most dangerous."
Another reason for PSU's great season is goalie Kalle Andersson.
The senior captain from Taby, Sweden, ranked 14th in Division III and led the MASCAC with a 1.82 goals-against average en route to a 14-1-1 record in his first 16 games. Andersson, who missed last season due to visa issues, also owned a .934 save percentage, which led the MASCAC among goaltenders with at least 10 games played.
"Having a brick wall back there gives you and your forwards extra confidence to try and make those plays that end up helping you win," Tracy said of Andersson.
Missing last season changed Andersson's attitude a bit, said Russell.
"He's super grateful to be here and to have the opportunity that he's got," Russell said. "I think, as we start getting toward playoffs, you're going to see he's going to have that killer instinct — that look in his eye where, 'Nobody's going to score on me.'"
The Panthers faced adversity early in the season with a 4-1 loss to Anna Maria and ties against fellow MASCAC members Westfield State and Fitchburg State in November. Russell partially attributed those results to some overconfidence.
Plymouth State's focus over its last six regular-season games, Russell said, will be on the little details — faceoffs, defensive-zone pressure and special teams techniques, to name a few.
A couple more close games over that stretch would be welcome, too.
"It's always nice to have a good game — it kind of gets you ready for that playoff atmosphere," Tracy said. "Anybody can come out and give that to you, so it's nice to get it now so that we can be prepared when the playoffs come."
