Southern New Hampshire Upends Fitchburg State, 6-3
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (1-5-2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
|
Southern N.H. (3-3-0) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
Celli collects pair of markers in Falcons setback
HOOKSETT, N.H. – Junior forward John Celli registered two markers but the Fitchburg State ice hockey team dropped a 6-3 decision to the University of Southern New Hampshire in opening round action of the 2014 PAL/Stovepipe Tournament hosted by Southern New Hampshire this afternoon.
With the win Southern New Hampshire (3-3-0, 1-2-0 NE-10) will take on Cortland State in the championship game tomorrow at 4:30 p.m., while Fitchburg State (1-5-2, 1-2-1 MASCAC) battles the University of New England in the consolation game at 1:30 p.m.
Southern New Hampshire opening the scoring just 3:11 into the first period as newcomer Timmy Baylis settled a feed from seniors Mike Durelli and Casey Goll and fired a shot into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Falcons knotted the score (1-1) at the 16:37 mark when junior forward Stephen Carlette deposited the puck inside the near post off assists from freshman Corey Hayashi and junior Timmy Genova before Celli converted a power-play opportunity, blasting a shot into the right side of the net for the 2-1 advantage after 20 minutes of play.
In the middle frame, the Penmen regained the lead for good, scoring three makers in the stanza. Freshman Kyle Valliere retied the contest at 2-2 three minutes into the period, while senior Dane Caracino put Southern New Hampshire on top for good two minutes last on an assist from classmate Steven Barry for the 3-2 margin.
The hosts continued its offensive pressure, upping its lead at the 6:52 mark when sophomore forward Jay Sylvia found the back of the netting for a power-play marker to make the score 4-2 before Celli connected on his second goal of the contest to cut the Falcons deficit to one (4-3) going into the final period of play.
In the third period, Southern New Hampshire secured its third victory of the season with just over four minutes remaining in regulation as junior Joe Collins notched his fourth goal on the season as the Penmen went on to win, 6-3.
Throughout the contest, Southern New Hampshire held a 31-21 advantage in shots, while the Falcons finished 1-for-5 with the man advantage. In net, senior Ryan Wysocki stopped 25 shots for Fitchburg State in 59:13 minutes of action, while junior David Letarte made 18 saves in the complete game effort for the Penmen.