Vikings Fall to Panthers on the Road, 8-1

THE BASICS

Salem State, 1 vs. Plymouth St., 8

Records:

Salem State University Vikings (2-7-1, 0-3-1)

Plymouth State Panthers (7-4-0, 5-1-0)

Location: Hanaway Rink - Plymouth, NH

Date: December 6, 2025

THE LEAD— The Salem State men's hockey team took an early lead on the road but struggled to contain the Plymouth State Panthers’ offense in the final two periods, ultimately falling 8-1 at the Hanaway Rink. The Vikings were heavily outshot, 68-25, and suffered from numerous penalties throughout the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Vikings managed to draw first blood in the opening frame. Despite Plymouth State creating several early offensive opportunities, Vikings goalie Will Nepveu (Jr.) held the Panthers scoreless. Salem State’s efforts paid off late in the period when Chase Conlon (Jr.) scored an even-strength goal at 18:57, assisted by Nick Sweet (So.) and Matt Babineau (Fy.). The Vikings ended the first period holding a 1-0 lead.

The second period proved costly for Salem State, as Plymouth State responded with three unanswered goals to take control of the game. The Panthers tied the game early in the half when Payton Schaly scored at 10:35, assisted by Kim Hilmersson and Will Redick. Later in the period, the Vikings faced continuous penalty trouble, including being called for hooking (6:56), roughing (8:24), and holding (13:08) infractions. The Panthers capitalized on the power play at 14:34, when Will Redick scored the eventual game-winning goal, assisted by Brendan Doyle and Etienne Tremblay-Mathieu. Plymouth State added one more even-strength goal at 18:17 from David Matousek before the period concluded, making the score 3-1.

Plymouth State continued its dominant scoring in the third period, netting five more goals. Luca Rea scored at 5:14, followed by a goal from Brendan Doyle at 6:48. The period also featured a flurry of major penalties and misconducts at 13:16 involving multiple players from both teams, including Salem State's Matt Babineau and Joseph Berndt (Jr.). The Panthers finished the game scoring three times in the final eight minutes, including goals by Anthony Alvarado (12:27), Thomas Kaufield (18:17), and Tikhon Ashikhmin (19:06), sealing the 8-1 defeat.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Vikings’ lone goal was scored by Chase Conlon, with assists credited to Nick Sweet and Matt Babineau.

Goaltender Will Nepveu faced heavy pressure throughout the 60 minutes of play, allowing 8 goals but making a massive 60 saves on 68 shots faced.

Plymouth State outshot Salem State in every period, leading to a final shot tally of 68-25 in favor of the Panthers. Salem State put 11 shots on goal in the first period, 8 in the second, and 6 in the third.

The Vikings struggled on special teams, going 0 for 4 on the power play. Salem State also accumulated significantly more penalty minutes, facing 17 infractions for a total of 77 penalty minutes, compared to Plymouth State's 11 infractions for 54 minutes.

UP NEXT

The Vikings return to Rockett Arena for their final contest of the 2025 calendar year, hosting the USM Huskies for a 7 p.m. faceoff on Thursday, December 11.