Salem State Skates Past Fitchburg State, 5-1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Salem St. (7-5-1, 4-2-1 MASCAC) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
|
Fitchburg St. (4-8-2, 3-4-1 MASCAC) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Caveney nets lone goal as Falcons drop tough MASCAC contest
FITCHBURG, Mass. (January 14, 2012) – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team played host to Salem State University afternoon, falling to the Vikings 5-1 in MASCAC action.
After 17 minutes of scoreless play, Salem State broke the game's scoring silence, taking an early 1-0 advantage at the 18:23 mark of the first period. Junior Chris Costigan (Salem, N.H./Mass. Cyclones) registered his first goal of the season to give the Vikings the early left, sending a wrist shot to the low left corner of the net.
The Vikings snagged a 2-0 lead midway through the second period (12:37) as Mark McDonald (Norwell, Mass./Bridgewater Bandits) connected for his fifth goal of the season with assists from Casey Terreri (Warwick, R.I./South Shore Kings) and Dan Smolinsky (Plymouth, Mass./South Shore Kings). Fitchburg State responded immediately as junior Joseph Caveney (Fitchburg, Mass./UMass Lowell) converted his first score as a Falcons (power-play) at the 14:23 mark, but Salem State answered the call just 0:14 later, regaining a two-goal advantage with a marker from Derek Crocker (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield).
Salem State added a fourth goal late in the second period as McDonald notched his second tally of the game to give the Vikings a commanding 4-1 margin. Fitchburg State opened the third period with a two-man advantage but Salem held off the Falcons power-play and later tacked on another score (Giancarlo Capodanno) for a 5-1 victory.
Fitchburg State held a 36-32 advantage in shots, but Salem State converted two power-play attempts to spark its offense. Sophomore goaltender Ryan Sutliffe (Grand Forks, N.D./Helena Bighorns) had a standout performance, stopping 35 shots in the contest, while senior Bobby Leiser (Monroe, N.Y./New York Applecore) suffered the loss for the Falcons, totaling 23 saves in a 53 minute effort.
Fitchburg State (4-8-2, 3-4-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it travels to Worcester State at 5:30 p.m. Salem State (7-5-1, 4-2-1 MASCAC) will host UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday at 7 p.m.