Fitchburg State Doubles Up UMass Dartmouth, 4-2

Loebs registers three points in Falcons MASCAC victory

FITCBHURG, Mass. (February 1, 2014) – Junior forward Sean Loebs (Cresskill, N.J.) posted three points on one goal and two assists as the Fitchburg State ice hockey team defeated UMass Dartmouth, 4-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at the Wallace Civic Center.

The Falcons hosted its first annual Wounded Warrior Benefit Game this evening as Fitchburg State University and the Fitchburg Police Relief Association partnered in organizing this evening's event, which benefited the Wounded Warriors Project (WWP), amongst a packed Wallace Civic Center crowd.

Fitchburg State opened the scoring just 1:46 into the first period as freshman forward Mike Fish (Salisbury, Mass.) fired a shot into the lower right corner of the net for his second tally of the season on feeds Loebs and sophomore John Celli (Leominster, Mass.) for the 1-0 margin.

The Falcons doubled their lead at the 18:43 mark when sophomore Nat Rojas (Elkridge, Md.) slipped the puck inside the far post for his third goal on the year as Loebs and classmate Timmy Genova (Smithtown, N.Y.) assisted on the play for the 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

In the middle frame, the Green and Gold upped its margin midway through the stanza as Celli blasted a shot into the upper left corner of the net for his team-leading tenth marker of the season, using assists from classmate Max Lorenzen (Leesburg, Va.) and freshman Jake Martin (Montreal, Que.) to make the score 3-0 after two periods of play.

In the final period of play, Fitchburg State took a four goal lead at the 7:52 mark when Loebs took a pass from Fish and struck for his third score of the season with a short-handed tally for the 4-0 margin.

UMass Dartmouth broke its scoring silence (4-1) two and half minutes later as sophomore forward Garrett Allen (Dartmouth, Mass.) was awarded a penalty shot. Allen skated in and was able deposit the puck inside the near post for his second goal on the season.         

The Corsairs would cut its deficit in half at the 12:43 mark when sophomore Mike Restucci (Malden, Mass.) buried a shot into the back of the net for his ninth goal on the season as junior Shaun Walters (Plymouth, Mich.) and sophomore John Sartell (Wakefield, Mass.) assisted on the play to make the score 4-2, but the Falcons defense clapped down to hold off UMass Dartmouth over the final seven minutes of the game to pick up their ninth win on the season.

Throughout the contest, UMass Dartmouth held a slim 34-33 advantage in shots, while the Falcons notched seven power-play opportunities. In net, junior Ryan Wysocki (Grand Rapids, Mich.) posted 32 saves for Fitchburg State in the complete game effort, while senior Ben Vandervies (Hanna, Alberta) recorded 29 stops for the Corsairs in the setback.

Fitchburg State (9-10-0, 6-6-0 MASCAC) will be back in action next Saturday as it visits the Panthers of Plymouth State University at 6 p.m. UMass Dartmouth (4-13-2, 4-8-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Thursday as it travels Worcester State University at 5:45 p.m.