Fitchburg State Swoops Past Framingham State, 8-2

Martin records first hat-trick of the season for Falcons in MASCAC victory

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (January 25, 2014) – Freshman forward Jake Martin (Montreal, Que.) registered his first hat-trick of the season as Fitchburg State defeated Framingham State, 8-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) ice hockey action this afternoon at Loring Arena.

With the win, Fitchburg State improves to 8-9-0 on the year and 5-5-0 in the MASCAC, while the Rams fall to 7-7-2 overall and 5-4-2 in the conference.

In the first period, Framingham State took  a quick 2-0 lead in the first four minutes of play as senior forward Jay Nicholls (Middleton, Mass.) connected for his first score of the season at the 1:57 mark before sophomore Ricky O'Connor (N. Andover, Mass.) doubled the Rams lead (2-0) two and half minutes later with his fourth goal on the year.

Fitchburg State responded at the 8:52 mark when junior defenseman Craig Halpin (Irvington, N.Y.) converted on the power-play for his first tally of the season on an assist from sophomore Max Lorenzen (Leesburg, Va.) to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.

The Falcons knotted the score with just over two minutes remaining in the frame as sophomore forward Stephen Carlette (Cheshire, Conn.) struck for his first collegiate goal, using feeds from freshmen Dillon Wright (Arlington, Mass.) and Jon Johannesson (Red Lake, Ont.) to make the score 2-2 after 20 minutes of play.

In the middle stanza, the Green and Gold grabbed its first lead of the match just 28 seconds into the period when sophomore John Celli (Leominster, Mass.) blasted a shot into the back of the net for his ninth marker of the season for the 3-2 margin. Halpin and Lorenzen assisted on the play.

Fitchburg State upped its advantage three minutes later as Martin found the back of the net for his seventh score of the season for the 4-2 lead before sophomore forward Timmy Genova (Smithtown, N.Y.) connected on his fourth tally of the season at the 7:50 mark to put the Falcons up 5-2. Genova would later add his second goal on the afternoon late in the frame to take a 6-2 lead into the second intermission.

In the final stanza, the Falcons secure the victory at the 3:49 mark as Martin blasted a shot into the net for his second marker of the contest before completing the hat-trick with four minutes remaining in regulation, resulting in the 8-2 final.

Throughout the match, Fitchburg State held a 50-40 advantage in shots, while the Rams registered five power play opportunities. Between the pipes, junior Ryan Wysocki (Grand Rapids, Mich.) totaled 27 saves for the Falcons in 40 minutes of action, while senior Nick Cafrelli (San Jose, Calif.) notched 20 stops for Framingham State in the setback.

Fitchburg State (8-9-0, 5-5-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Thursday as it visits Vikings of Salem State for a contest starting at 7 p.m. Framingham State (7-7-2, 5-4-2 MASCAC) will host Franklin Pierce University on Tuesday at 7:20 p.m.