Fitchburg State Sweeps Plymouth State, 6-4

Falcons claim MASCAC league title with six individual scores

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. (February 25, 2010) - The Fitchburg State ice hockey team exploded with four consecutive goals in the second period to bolt ahead and post a 6-4 victory over Plymouth State College this evening.  

With the victory, Fitchburg State improves to 18-4-1 on the season and clinches first place in the MASCAC with an incredible 14-3-0 mark and 28 points. The Falcons have solidified a first round playoff bye and will host the MASCAC semifinal round on Thursday evening.

Trailing 1-0 after an Alex Cottle (West Chester, Pa./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) first period goal, Fitchburg State broke its scoring silence in a powerful way, registering four unanswered goals in the second stanza. Freshman Chris Costigan (Salem, N.H./Northern Cyclones) ignited the Falcons scoring rally at the 3:44 mark as the freshman forward connected for his ninth score of the season off a John Vets (Hamden, Conn./Hartford Jr. Wolfpack) assist.

Classmate Justin Quinn (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) followed suit less than two minutes later as the rookie paired up with sophomore Kevin McCready (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Mohawk CC) to give Fitchburg State a 2-1 advantage. The Falcons continued to score in bunches as junior Billy Pescosolido (Framingham, Mass./Walpole Express) found the back of the net just 1:44 later, while McCready capped the offensive surge with his 12th marker of the season midway through the frame.  

Holding a 4-2 advantage heading into the third period, Fitchburg State immediately grabbed a three goal advantage as sophomore Thomas McAleer (East Islip, N.Y./New York Bobcats) touched home at the 1:04 mark. Plymouth State fought back valiantly with back-to-back scores by Sean Buckely (Sagamore Beach, Mass./Lawrence Academy) and Richie Zobak (Evergreen Park, Ill./Bay State Breakers), but Fitchburg State senior Andrew Hutton (Brewster, Mass./Boston Harbor Wolves) added an empty net goal with ten seconds left in regulation to seal the Falcon victory.

The Falcons posted the season sweep over Plymouth State this evening despite being outshot 33-30 in the contest. Junior Robert Vorse (Leominster, Mass./Bay State Breakers) earned his team-leading tenth victory of the season with 29 saves in net, while Jack Astedt (Angelholm, Sweden/Rogle BK) suffered the loss for the Panthers with 19 stops.

Fitchburg State (18-4-1, 14-3-0 MASCAC) will hit the ice again on Saturday as it travels to UMass Dartmouth at 4:30 p.m. Plymouth State (15-8-1, 11-5-1 MASCAC) will travel to Westfield State College on Saturday at 5:35 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Fitchburg State 6, Plymouth State 4

Scoring
First Period: PSU: Alex Cottle (Steve Ficaro, Chris Chambers), 4:32;
Second Period: FIT: Chris Costigan (John Vets), 3:44; FIT: Justin Quinn (Kevin McCready), 5:10; FIT: Billy Pescosolido (Chris Riggs, Andrew Hutton), 6:54; FIT: Kevin McCready (Quinn, Chris Brecken), 10:25; PSU: Chris Zaremba (Chambers), 11:44;
Third Period: FIT: Thomas McAleer (Costigan), 1;04; PSU: Sean Buckely (Bryan Kirner, Andrew Stewart), 6:58; PSU: Richie Zobak (Chambers, Zaremba), 9:24; FIT: Hutton, 19:50;   
Goaltending: FIT: Robert Vorse (60:00), 29 saves; PSU: Jack Astedt (41:04), 19 saves; Aaron Runner (18:12), five saves
Shots: FIT: 30; PSU: 33