Fitchburg State Falls At Westfield State, 7-2

Lorenzen and Bedard register one goal apiece for Falcons

WESTFIELD, Mass. (January 24, 2013) – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team fell to Westfield State University, 7-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening.

In the first period of play, Fitchburg State took the lead at the 11:04 mark as freshman Max Lorenzen (Leesburg, Va./Valley Jr. Warriors) one timed a shot inside the right post for his ninth marker of the season, using feeds from seniors Justin Quinn (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) and Trevor Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass./New England Jr. Huskies) for the 1-0 margin.

Westfield State knotted the score (1-1) with about two minutes remaining in the frame when junior Tyler Prendergast (Richmond Hill, ON./Whitby Fury) knocked home a loose rebound in front of the net for his third goal on the year. The Falcons quickly regain the lead one minute later as freshman Ryan Bedard (Derby Line, Vt./Bay State Breakers) slipped the puck past Owls goaltender Ian Perrier (Whitehorse, YT./Dryden Ice Dogs) for his second tally of the year to put Fitchburg State up 2-1 going into the first intermission.

The Owls retied the game (2-2) just 43 seconds into the second stanza when junior Vince Perreault (Braeside, ON./Kemptville 75's) intercepted a pass, raced down the ice and flipped a shot into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season. The hosts grabbed their first lead of the night at the 5:57 mark as freshman Kyllain Kirkwood (Cooper Cliff, ON./Wellington Dukes) fired a shot into the net for his second tally of the season for the 3-2 advantage.

Westfield State upped its lead (4-2) with just over 12 minutes remaining in the period as senior forward Lucas Romero (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA./Pembroke Lumberkings) redirected a shot off the stick of junior Josh McCully (North Bay, ON./Motor City Metal Jackets) before senior Jeff Callahan (Londonderry, N.H./Valley Jr. Warriors) struck for his first marker of the year to make the score 5-3 after two periods of play.

In the final stanza, The Owls secured their 11th victory of the season at the 2:21 mark as Prendergast fired a shot to the near side for his second goal of the contest before Steve Evans (Kingston, ON./Wellington Dukes) capped the Owls scoring with just over four minutes left in game, resulting in the 7-2 final.

Throughout the match, Westfield State held a 47-44 advantage in shots, while Fitchburg State finished 2-for-4 on the power-play. In net, junior Randy Wolcott (East Haven, Conn./Wisconsin-Stevens Point) collected 27 saves for the Falcons in the setback, while Perrier stopped 42 shots for the Owls in the complete game effort.

Fitchburg State (6-9-2, 5-5-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Saturday as it hosts the Panthers of Plymouth State University at 4 p.m. Westfield State (11-6-1, 7-4-1 MASCAC) will host Plymouth State University next Thursday at 7:35 p.m.