Falcons Rally Past UMass Dartmouth, 3-2
| 0:00 - 3rd | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Fitchburg St. (8-8-2 (6-4-1)) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
|
Mass.-Dartmouth (6-11-2 (5-5-2)) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Celli collects three points on two markers and one assist for Falcons
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Junior forward John Celli registered three points on two goals and one assist as the Fitchburg State ice hockey team defeated UMass Dartmouth, 3-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at Hetland Arena.
Following a scoreless first period, UMass Dartmouth opened the scoring 1:22 into the second frame as sophomore Matt Baldino took a pair of feeds from senior Shaun Walters and newcomer Shayne Bailey and fired a shot inside the near post for his fifth tally on the year for the 1-0 advantage.
The Corsairs doubled their lead (2-0) three minutes later when junior forward Brandon Gilmore found the back the net for his seventh tally of the season on assists from freshman Casey Shea and junior Mike Kelly.
Fitchburg State broke its scoring silence at the 13:06 mark as Celli blasted a shot into the upper left corner of the net for his eight marker of the year to cut the deficit to 2-1. Classmate Ryan Bedard and senior Craig Halpin assisted on the play.
The Green and Gold knotted the score two minutes later when Celli connected on his second score of the contest. Celli gathered a pass from newcomer James Gordon and rifled a shot into the right side of the net to make the score 2-2 going into the third period.
In the final period of play, the visitors continued the offensive pressure as junior Max Lorenzen collected a rebounded shot in front of the net off the stick of Celli and wristed a shot past Corsairs netminder JJ Solloway with 2:40 remaining in the contest for the game-winner, resulting in the 3-2 final.
Throughout the contest, UMass Dartmouth held a 42-38 margin in shots, while the Falcons finished 2-for-5 with the man advantage. In goal, senior Ryan Wysocki posted 40 saves for Fitchburg State in the complete game effort, while Solloway stopped 35 shots for UMass Dartmouth in the setback.
Fitchburg State (8-8-2, 6-4-1 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it hosts the Rams of Framingham State University at 7:30 p.m. UMass Dartmouth (6-11-2 5-5-2 MASCAC) returns to on Tuesday as well as it hosts Worcester State University at 7:30 p.m.