Edinboro forward Nick Tucci single-handedly knocked Pitt’s Division III hockey team out of… Edinboro forward Nick Tucci single-handedly knocked Pitt’s Division III hockey team out of the College Hockey East playoffs.

Tucci notched three goals to give the Fighting Scots a 6-2 win over Pitt on Friday night. Forward Chris Morgan assisted on all three of Tucci’s goals.

After Ignas Marcinkevicius and Jon Colarusso each scored a goal to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead, Tucci scored Edinboro’s first goal when he controlled a loose puck near a Panther defender, skated towards the net and shot through the five-hole of Pitt goaltender Colin McCloskey. The goal came at 15:35 in the first period.

Edinboro forward Mike Yaskulski and Morgan both scored second-period goals to give the Fighting Scots their first lead 3-2.

Colarusso committed a roughing penalty with five seconds remaining in the second period — a penalty that would carry over to the final period.

In the third period, with 1:35 remaining on the Colarusso penalty, Pitt defenseman Justin Avi received a penalty for tripping.

Edinboro did not waste the opportunity to put the Panthers away with the five-on-three power play.

Forward Owen Bates took a pass from Morgan and fired the puck on net. McCloskey dove to make the save, but could not handle the rebound. Tucci swept in to send the puck into the open net.

A minute later, Edinboro scored again on the power play to take a 5-2 lead. Bates controlled a rebound and shot it past McCloskey.

Tucci would seal the game at the 7:13 mark on a breakaway. He moved toward the net, causing McCloskey to commit, and lifted the puck high, stick side, for his third goal.

Head coach Toki Barron said he was disappointed to lose after opening the game with a 2-0 lead. He attributed the letdown to penalties and mistakes — but mistakes that come with a young team.

“The younger players tend to get a little over-confident,” Barron said.

The Panthers will look to build upon this year’s success and make another run for the CHE playoffs next year.

— Jimmy Johnson, Staff Writer

Men’s lacrosse picks up first win of season

It was an abnormal move by Panther attackman Warren Maxwell that propelled the Pitt men’s lacrosse team to a victory over No. 22 Michigan State.

Maxwell scored five goals and recorded three assists in the Panthers’ (1-0 overall, 1-0 Central College Lacrosse Association) 13-11 win over the Spartans (1-2, 0-1). His sweeping move across the flat part of the cage led to most of his goals.

“It’s a move that many people don’t have the courage to take,” Pitt head coach Rob Heaps said.

Sweeping in from the side of the net is dangerous because sticks are flailing and the player must run through at least one or two defensemen to reach the net. Heaps commented on the cuts and bruises that Maxwell suffered just to get to the net, but accredited his goals to his speed and ability.

“His five goals are more than outstanding against a strong [Michigan State] defense,” Heaps said.

The key moment in the game came with the score tied at nine in the fourth quarter. Both teams had taken several turns at holding the lead, and the Panthers Vlady Tinchev, with the Spartan defense stretched out of position, drove down the left side. Tinchev was one-on-one with Spartan goaltender Ryan Doski and fired a shot to the right-hand side, beating Doski for his second goal of the game and the eventual game-winner.

Junior midfielder Craig Anderson, who scored the game’s first goal, finished with two goals and an assist for the Panthers.

On the other side, two Spartans finished with a hat trick. Brian Baines and Grant Griffith both notched three goals in the game.

The Panthers will play against another CCLA team on Friday at 9 p.m. for their home opener. The game is against Buffalo at the Cost Center.

–JJ