Fitchburg State Edges Framingham State, 3-2

Connolly registers game-winning tally in Falcons MASCAC victory

FITCHBURG, Mass. (February 20, 2014) – Sophomore forward Ryan Connolly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) collected the game-winning tally 12:59 into the third period as the Fitchburg State ice hockey team defeated Framingham State University, 3-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at the Wallace Civic Center.

In the opening period of play, Fitchburg State took the lead at the 19:38 mark as senior Shawn Bradley (Tewksbury, Mass.) blasted a shot into the upper right corner of the net for his second tally of the season on feeds from sophomore John Celli (Leominster, Mass.) and junior Craig Halpin (Irvington, N.Y.) for the 1-0 margin after twenty minutes of play.

In the second frame, the Green and Gold doubled their lead (2-0) just 14 seconds into the stanza when Celli wristed a shot inside the far post for his team-leading 12th marker of the season. Sophomore forward Nat Rojas (Elkridge, Md.) and classmate Max Lorenzen (Leesburg, Va.) assisted on the play.

Framingham State responded at the 13:06 mark as junior Brendon McCarron (Millbury, Mass.) converted on the power-play for his team-best 14th score on the year, using assists from senior Daniel Miressi (Monroe, Conn) and junior Ryan McDonald (Anchorage, AK.) to make the score 2-1.

The Rams knotted the score with just under two minutes remaining in the period when senior forward Tom Tracy (Wakefield, Mass.) collected a pair of feeds from Miressi and McDonald and slipped a shot into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season to tie the score 2-2 going into the third period.

In the final stanza, the Falcons broke the 2-2 stalemate at the 12:59 mark as Connolly buried a shot into the left side of the net for his 11th marker of the season as junior Sean Loebs (Cresskill, N.J.) and sophomore Timmy Genova (Smithtown, N.Y.) added assists on the play to give Fitchburg State the 3-2 victory.

Throughout the match, Fitchburg State held a narrow 32-30 margin in shots, while the Rams finished 1-for-4 with the man advantage. Between the pipes, junior Ryan Wysocki (Grand Rapids, Mich.) totaled 28 saves for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while senior Nick Cafrelli (San Jose, Calif.) posted 29 stops for Framingham State in the setback.

Fitchburg State (10-12-1, 7-8-1 MASCAC) will be in action on Saturday as it hosts the Vikings of Salem State University for a contest starting at 7:30 p.m. Framingham State (10-9-4, 8-6-3 MASCAC) will travel to Plymouth State University on Saturday at 6 p.m.