Fitchburg State Downs Salem State, 5-1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Salem St. (10-9-1, 7-5-1 MASCAC) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
Fitchburg St. (8-10-2, 7-6-1 MASCAC) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
Connolly and Celli collect two apiece in Falcons MASCAC victory
FITCHBURG, Mass. (February 2, 2013) – Freshmen forwards Ryan Connolly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./New York Applecore) and John Celli (Leominster, Mass./Valley Jr. Warriors) each registered a pair of goals as Fitchburg State defeated Salem State University, 5-1 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this afternoon at the Wallace Civic Center.
Fitchburg State grabbed the lead just 4:36 into the opening stanza as Connolly fired a one timer past Salem State goaltender Ryan Sutliffe (Las Vegas, NV./Helena Big Horns) for the 1-0 margin. Senior Joesph Caveney (Fitchburg, Mass./New England Jr. Huskies) and sophomore Derek Giansanti (Newington, Conn./Connecticut Jr. Wolfpack) assisted on the play.
In the second frame, Salem State knotted the score (1-1) at the 1:50 mark as sophomore Kristofer Faric (Whitby, ON./Castleton State College) slipped the puck inside the far post for his sixth score of the season off an assist from junior Mark Macdonald (Norwell, Mass./Bridgewater Bandits).
The Falcons regained the lead about three and half minutes later as Celli blasted a slap shot to the upper right corner of the net for his seventh tally of the season using feeds from junior Randy Wolcott (East Haven, Conn./Wisconsin-Stevens Point) and Giansanti to take a 2-1 lead heading into the final period of play.
In the third period, the Green and Gold upped its lead at the 2:11 mark when Celli's wrist shot found the back of the net for his second goal on the night for the 3-1 advantage. The Falcons iced the game on back-to-back tallies from Connolly and classmate Ryan Bedard (Derby Line, Vt./Bay State Breakers), resulting in the 5-1 final.
Throughout the match, Salem State held a 39-28 advantage in shots, while the Falcons finished 2-for-4 on the power-play. Between the pipes, Wolcott collected 38 saves for Fitchburg State in the complete game effort, while Sutliffe stopped 23 shots for the Vikings in the setback.
Fitchburg State (8-10-2, 7-6-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Thursday as it visits the Lancers of Worcester State University for a contest starting at 5:30 p.m. Salem State (10-9-1, 7-5-1 MASCAC) will host UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 7 p.m.