Salem State Shuts Down Fitchburg State, 2-1

Lorenzen nets lone goal in Falcons conference setback

SALEM, Mass. (January 30, 2014) – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team was in action this evening, dropping a 2-1 decision to Salem State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) ice hockey action at Rockett Ice Arena in Salem.

Salem State opened the scoring at the 12:11 mark of the first period as senior forward Eric Defelice (Chalfont, Penn.) collected a pass from sophomore Chris Mastropietro (Revere, Mass.) and deposited the puck into the back of the net for his team-leading ninth score of the season for the 1-0 margin.

The Falcons nearly tied the score with five seconds left in the frame when freshman forward Jake Martin (Montreal, Que.) streaked up the near boards and found sophomore Stephen Carlette (Cheshire, Conn.) on the right post but Viking goaltender Ryan Sutliffe (Las Vegas, Nev.) made an outstanding save to his left to preserve the 1-0 lead after one period of play.

In the second stanza, Fitchburg State turned up the offensive pressure with five minutes remaining in the period as sophomore forward Ryan Connolly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) and classmate John Celli (Leominster, Mass.) both had quality point blank scoring chances, but Sutliffe was up to the task, turning aside both shots as the Vikings took a 1-0 advantage into the second intermission.

In the final frame, the hosts doubled their lead (2-0) at the 6:51 mark when sophomore Andrew Bettencourt (Riverside, R.I.) intercepted a pass at center ice, skated in and wristed a shot inside the near post for his fourth goal of the year.

The Falcons answered midway through the stanza as sophomore forward Max Lorenzen (Leesburg, Va.) blasted a shot from the right point into the upper right corner of the net for his fifth tally of the season on assists from Connolly and junior Craig Halpin (Irvington, N.Y.) to make the score 2-1, but that's as close as the Green and Gold would as the Vikings held on for the one goal victory.

Throughout the contest, Salem State held a 34-20 margin in shots, while the Falcons finished 1-for-4 on the power-play. In net, junior Ryan Wysocki (Grand Rapids, Mich.) posted 32 saves in 58:30 minutes of action for Fitchburg State, while Sutliffe was just as impressive for the Vikings, stopping 19 for the 20 shots he faced in the complete game effort.

Fitchburg State (8-10-0, 5-6-0 MASCAC) will be in action again on Saturday as it hosts the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth in its first annual Wounded Warriors Benefit Game at 7:00 p.m. Salem State (10-7-1, 7-3-1 MASCAC) will travel to Worcester State University on Saturday at 4:45 p.m.