Assumption Clips Fitchburg State, 7-5

Caveney nets hat trick for Falcons in non-conference setback

WORCESTER, Mass. (February 11, 2013) – Senior forward Joseph Caveney (Fitchburg, Mass./New England Jr. Huskies) registered four points on three goals and one assist as the Fitchburg State ice hockey team fell to Assumption College, 7-5 in non-conference action this evening at the Horgan Memorial Rink.

Fitchburg State jumped out to early lead just 3:22 into the opening frame when Caveney found the back of the net for his 13th marker of the year off an assist from classmate Trevor Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass./New England Jr. Huskies) for the 1-0 advantage.

Assumption knotted the score (1-1) at the 12:05 mark as senior Dave Maiocco (Medford, Mass./Arlington Catholic) struck for his second tally on the year before the Falcons regained the lead (2-1) roughly a minute and half later as Caveney connected for his second score on the night. Fitchburg State upped its lead at the 17:18 mark when freshman John Celli (Leominster, Mass./Valley Jr. Warriors) notched his ninth goal of the season to make the score 3-1 after one period of play.

In the second frame, the Greyhounds cut the lead to one (3-2) at the 3:50 mark as senior defenseman Dave D'Amico (Johnston, R.I./LaSalle Academy) fired a shot into the net for his first collegiate tally. Assumption retied the game (3-3) eight minutes into the frame on junior Garrett Lessard's (East Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) first tally on the year. The hosts grabbed its first lead on the night at the 19:54 mark as junior Mike Heyde (Natick, Mass./Natick) registered his second marker of the season to take a 4-3 lead into the second intermission.

In the final period of play, Assumption upped its lead just 2:49 into the stanza as sophomore Jared Vona (West Seneca, N.Y./Saint Francis Prep) posted his first goal of the year, using feeds from juniors Jon Baldwin (Malden, Mass./Saint Mary's) and Nick Mattiello (Johnston, R.I./Bishop Henricken) for the 5-3 margin.

The Falcons cut the deficit to one (5-4) less than a minute later when Caveney received a feed from freshman Ryan Connolly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./New York Applecore) to complete the hat trick before Lawler blasted a shot into the net at the 5:57 mark to retie the game at 5-5.

The Greyhounds sealed the victory with five minutes remaining in the contest as sophomore Trevor Plante (Blackstone, Mass./Mt. St. Charles) notched his sixth goal on the year before Mattiello added an empty netter with time winding down resulting in the 7-5 final.

Throughout the match, Fitchburg State held a 45-30 advantage in shots, while the Falcons also finished 2-for-3 with the man advantage. In net, sophomore Ryan Wysocki (Grand Rapids, Mich./Toledo Cherokee) made 22 saves for Fitchburg State in the setback, while junior Bobby Bowden (Springfield, Mass./Williston-Northampton) stopped 40 shots in the complete game effort.

Fitchburg State (9-11-2, 8-6-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Thursday as it visits the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth for a contest starting at 7:30 p.m. Assumption (6-15-2, 2-4-2 NE-10) will travel to Worcester State tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.