NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Chase Carney scored a power play goal with 3:18 remaining to bring the Keene State College men's ice hockey team within a goal, but their late push ultimately came up short as the Owls fell to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 3-2 in the Little East Conference and season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at Hetland Arena.

KSC finishes their second NCAA Division III season and inaugural LEC season at 7-17-1 and 3-14-1 in the league but hopes that their late strides as they went 2-2-1 after a debilitating 11-game winning streak can be carried into next season when they embark on year three.

As for today – a game that had no bearing on the conference standings with both teams having been knocked out of the playoff picture where all six teams were decided entering the final day (but the seedings not) – two goals in the opening 11:10 of the second period ultimately proved to be the difference for UMass-Dartmouth (12-13-0, 7-11-0 LEC), who won their final two games after losing six straight and allowing 36 goals in that span to all but dash their playoff hopes.  The first came just 37 seconds out of the first intermission break as Tyler Stewart was in alone near Ben Skelton off a pass from Hunter Scanlon after the Owls could not get the puck out of the zone to give the Corsairs their second lead.  Alex Walker doubled it to 3-1 with a power play goal at 11:10 of the second as KSC labored in the period, allowing 19 of UMD's 39 shots in the middle 20 minutes.

The Owls outshot the Corsairs in both the first and third periods, but could not find much offense to show for it.  Kyle Gonzalez found the back of the net from Carney and Declan House, playing his final career game, to tie the game at one 14:28 in after UMD had scored just 1:21 into the game on Brogan Shea's first goal of the season.  But KSC could not find the back of the cage again until Carney rifled home the man-up tally off nice passes by Gonzalez and House with less than four minutes to go.

UMass-Dartmouth goalie Marshall McKallip made two saves over the next two minutes to keep his team ahead, stopping Luke Festa and Peter Unger, and the equalizer ultimately never came for the Owls, who lost five of their final six faceoffs and struggled at the dot all night (losing the faceoff battle 41-24).  Carney did win the last with 18 seconds left, but KSC's final two shots were blocked as time ran out on their season.

Carney and Gonzalez each finished with a goal and an assist, while House had two helpers.

Skelton made 36 saves in 59:26 in the KSC net, while McKallip stopped 33 including 12 in the third period as the Corsairs swept the season series and improved to 4-0-0 against the Owls.  KSC led 3-2 entering the third period this year in the meeting in Keene before crumbling to a 6-3 loss as UMD scored the final four goals.

KSC will now graduate four seniors that helped build this new iteration of Owls hockey from the ground up, including their first ever captain House, who transferred from Franklin Pierce University along with alternate captain Payton Jones.  Jason Smith and John Belisle, members of KSC's successful ACHA program (that was coached by current head coach Bobby Rodrigue) that made several runs to the national tournament before making the varsity team, will also be graduating in May.

The Owls likely figured it would take a few years to gain their footing – including joining a conference with several programs that have been nationally-relevant including four-time national champion Norwich University.  When KSC hits the ice later this year for the 2026-2027 season, their first-ever recruiting class will now be juniors with a goal to move up the standings.

"The boys have played well for the last few weeks, but I was disappointed that they could not get any momentum tonight," said Rodrigue.  "It was a tough finish, but we are really pleased with the compete level particularly in the last handful of games.  We are really proud of the four seniors who were instrumental in building the foundation for the growth of the program."

Stay tuned to keeneowls.com and social media handles @KeeneStateOwls and @KSC_MIH for news and updates throughout the offseason before the Owls hit the ice for their third season this October, including the home opener on Halloween.