Assumption Shoots Past Fitchburg State, 3-2 (OT)

Lawler nets a pair to lead Falcons in non-conference tilt

FITCHBURG, Mass. (February 11, 2012) – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team rallied from one goal down late in the third period to force overtime but ended up falling to Assumption College, 3-2 in non-conference overtime action this evening.

Assumption got on the board first, scoring at the 10:56 mark of the first stanza as senior Pat O'Kane (Hollis, N.H./Bishop Guertin) connected for the Ice Dogs with an unassisted tally. Fitchburg State responded immediately however, knotting the score at 1-1 with a goal off the stick of Trevor Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass./New England Jr. Huskies). Lawler connected for his tenth goal of the season with helpers from Shawn Bradley (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) and Kyle Campana (Boxboro, Mass./Portland Jr. Pirates).

The Ice Dogs took a 2-1 advantage late in the second period as junior Ken Pia (Guilford, Conn./Xavier) found the back of the net. Pia took a dish from both Mike Looney (Shrewsbury, Mass./St. John's)  and Kevin Glanzman (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) to beat the Falcon power-play and registered his first short-handed goal of the season.

The third period remained scoreless until the closing seconds when Fitchburg State put home an even strength tally at the 19:40 mark. Lawler netted the game-tying marker with a helper from junior Joseph Caveney (Fitchburg, Mass./Saint Bernards), giving himself two scores on the night and sending the Falcons into a five minute overtime.

In the extra frame, both teams remained silent until Assumption sent home the game-winner with just 0:20 remaining on the clock. Senior Taylor Larsen (Blackstone, Mas./Blackstone-Millville) and sophomore Nick Mattiello (Johnston, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) took the puck up the right side of the board and slipped the puck down to O'Kane who connected for his second score of the game.

For the contest, Assumption held a slim advantage in shots, 38-34. Sophomore Bobby Bowden (Springfield, Mass./Williston-Northampton) improved to 9-2-0 on the season, posting 32 for stops for the Ice Dogs, while senior Bobby Leiser (Monroe, N.Y./New York Applecore) took the loss for the Falcons with 36 saves on the night.

Fitchburg State (8-11-3, 7-6-1 MASCAC) will be in action again on Thursday as it hosts UMass Dartmouth at 7 p.m. Assumption (12-8-1, 7-2-1 NE-10) will host Framingham State on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m.