Fitchburg State Downs UMass Dartmouth, 3-1
Fitchburg State Downs UMass Dartmouth, 3-1
Hutton and Riggs lift Falcons to ninth consecutive victory
FITCHBURG, Mass. (February 4, 2010) - The Fitchburg State ice hockey team earned its ninth straight victory in remarkable fashion, downing conference foe UMass Dartmouth, 3-1 in MASCAC action this evening.
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Junior Chris Riggs (Sewell, N.J./Fort Vancouver Pioneers) and senior Andrew Hutton (Brewster, Mass./Boston Harbor Wolves) sparked the Falcons offense with two points apiece, combining for one goal and three assists, while junior Erik Trahan (Manville, R.I./Winchendon School) and freshman Justin Quinn (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) added one score each.
Fitchburg State struck first, taking a 1-0 advantage early in the first period as Trahan hit home with slap shot just inside the blue-line. The junior defensemen collected his second goal of the season off a Falcons power-play, using assists from Riggs and Hutton on the attack.
In the second period, the Falcons opened a 2-0 lead on a Hutton marker at the 18:43 mark but UMass Dartmouth quickly ended the Fitchburg State momentum, tacking a late second period goal with 0:29 remaining in the frame. The Corsairs cut the Falcons lead to only one as junior Jason Stahl (Chino, Calif./Cushing Academy) found the back of the net off helpers from Joe Hill (Newburyport, Mass./Valley Jr. Warriors) and Phil Bronner (Wilbraham, Mass./Springfield Jr. Falcons).
Following the second intermission, Fitchburg State continued to soar on the offensive end as Quinn collected his seventh tally of the season midway through the period. The freshman forward hooked up with classmate Chris Costigan (Salem, N.H./Northern Cyclones) and junior Billy Pescosolido (Framingham, Mass./Walpole Express) as he took a pass from the left side of the ice and slipped it past Corsair goaltender Jon Dryjowicz-Burek (Ludlow, Mass./Springfield Jr. Falcons) for the Falcons third score of the game.
Fitchburg State held a slim 36-31 advantage in shots, but converted 1-of-2 power-plays which proved to be the difference maker. Sophomore Bobby Leiser (Monroe, N.Y./New York Applecore) picked up his conference leading eight victory of the season with 30 stops in net, while Dryjowicz-Burek totaled 33 saves for the Corsairs.
Fitchburg State (14-3-1, 10-2-0 MASCAC) will hit the ice again next Thursday as it travels to Framingham State College at 7:20 p.m. UMass Dartmouth (7-11-1, 2-9-1) will travel to Salem State this Saturday at 2 p.m.
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Fitchburg State 3, UMass Dartmouth 1
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Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
F | |
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Fitchburg State (14-3-1, 10-2-0 MASCAC) |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 | |
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UMass Dartmouth (7-11-1, 2-9-1 MASCAC) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Scoring
First Period: FIT: Erik Trahan (Chris Riggs, Andrew
Hutton), 6:58;
Second Period: FIT: Hutton (Riggs, Billy
Pescosolido), 18:43 ; UMD: Jason Stahl (Joe Hill, Phil Bronner),
19:31
Third Period: FIT: Justin Quinn (Pescosolido,
Chris Costigan), 9:05
Goaltending: FIT: Bobby Leiser (60:00), 30 saves;
UMD: Jon Dryjowicz-Burek (60:00), 33 saves;
Shots: FIT: 36; UMD: 31