Westfield State Nips Fitchburg State, 6-4

Lorenzen collects three points; Finn stops 35 shots for Falcons

WESTFIELD, Mass. (November 21, 2013) – Junior forward Dan Loughlin (Methuen, Mass.) registered the game-winning tally at the 17:12 mark as the Westfield State ice hockey team defeated Fitchburg State, 6-4 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at Amelia Park Ice Arena.

Westfield State jumped out to a quick lead just 1:50 into the first period as freshman forward Jackson Leef (Fort Wayne, Ind.) slipped the puck inside the far post for his fourth tally of the season for the 1-0 lead. Sophomore Dalton Jay (Hamilton, Ont.) and freshman Justin DeVincentis (Ancaster, Ont.) assisted on the play.

The Owls doubled their margin (2-0) at the 6:53 mark when senior Taylor Murphy (Toronto, Ont.) found the back of the net for the power play tally as he redirected a shot off the stick of sophomore Kyllian Kirkwood (Copper Cliff, Ont.) for his second score of the year.

Fitchburg State cut the deficit in half with just over six minutes remaining in the frame as sophomore Ryan Connolly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) collected feeds from freshman Jake Martin (Montreal, Que.) and sophomore Max Lorenzen (Leesburg, Va.) in front of the net and deposited the puck inside the right post for the power play score to make the score 2-1

The Green and Gold knotted the score at the 19:43 mark when Lorenzen struck for his third goal on the season on an assist from junior Craig Halpin (Irvington, N.Y) to tie the game at 2-2 going into the first intermission.

In the second stanza, Westfield State regained the lead at the 14:11 mark as senior Tyler Predergast (Richmond Hill, Ont.) connected for his for his first marker of the season off assists from Vince Perreault (Braeside, Ont.) and Kirkwood for the 3-2 advantage after two periods of play.

In the final period of play, the hosts upped their lead 1:33 into the final stanza when Perreault gathered a rebound off the stick of Predergast and found the back the back of the net for his fourth score of the season to make the score 4-2.

The Falcons answered back (4-3) at the 8:14 mark as Martin beat Owls goaltender Eddie Davey (Orangeville, Ont.) to the glove side for his fourth marker of the season to cut the Westfield State lead to one.

Fitchburg State retied the game with just over seven minutes remaining in the contest when freshman Cameron Snyder (Shawnee, Kan.) connected for his first collegiate tally on feeds from senior Derek Giansanti (Newington, Conn.) and junior Sean Loebs (Cresskill, N.J.) to knot the score at 4-4.

The Owls regained the lead for good at the 17:12 mark as Loughlin fired a shot in front of the net for his third goal on the year before the hosts put the game away with an empty netter off the stick of Predergast for his second score of match with just over a minute left, resulting in the 6-4 final.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State held a 51-41 advantage in shots, while the Owls finished 1-for-4 on the power play. In net, junior Dan Finn (Fitchburg, Mass.) recorded 35 saves for the Falcons in the setback, while Davey posted 47 stops for Westfield State in the complete game effort

Fitchburg State (3-4-0, 1-2-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Saturday as it hosts the Rams of Framingham State University for a matchup starting at 4 p.m. Westfield State (2-4-0, 2-1-0 MASCAC) will host UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 5:35 p.m.