Fitchburg State Rallies Past Plymouth State, 5-3
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (5-7-2, 3-3-1) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
|
Plymouth St. (6-6-3, 6-1-1) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Nussbaum registers first collegiate tally for Falcons in MASCAC victory
Plymouth, N.H. – Junior Max Lorenzen scored a goal and assisted on another in the third period Thursday evening as Fitchburg State University rallied to defeat Plymouth State University, 5-3, in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's ice hockey action at Hanaway Rink.
The visiting Falcons came from behind three times to hand the league-leading Panthers their first MASCAC loss of the season as PSU falls to 6-1-1 in the conference, 6-6-3 overall. Fitchburg State evened its MASCAC record at 3-3-1 while moving to 5-7-2 overall.
Plymouth State was led by junior Andrew Wigg, who scored a pair of goals to take over the MASCAC scoring lead with 19 points (10 goals, 9 assists).
The Panthers scored the only goal of the first period when sophomore Eric Strom slid a backhander under the goalie from right in front after some nice passing with senior Chad Barthelmess and sophomore Mike Economos.
Fitchburg State got on the board two minutes into the second period following a Panther turnover behind its own goal; sophomore Jon Johannesson collected the loose puck and dumped it into an empty net to tie the score at 1-1.
Wigg gave PSU the lead back with his first of the game with six minutes left in the period, deflecting home a shot from the left point by sophomore defenseman Tord Thoresen, but that advantage lasted just 26 seconds as junior Stephen Carlette poked in a centering pass from classmate Ryan Connolly to deadlock the score at 2-2 after two periods of play.
Plymouth State regained the lead when Wigg snapped in a wrister after some nice stick work from junior Josh Woody two minutes into the third period, but the Falcons answered back.
Lorenzen knotted the score 3-3 two minutes later, burying a pass from behind the net from sophomore Cameron Snyder, while Lorenzen set up senior Brett Nussbaum for the game-winner at the seven-minute mark on a slap shot from the point through traffic in front of the net.
Junior Paul Falanga sealed the win for the Falcons when he stole the puck and scored on a breakaway with 1:24 remaining, resulting in the 5-3 final.
In goal, senior Ryan Wysocki earned the win in goal for the Green and Gold with 34 saves as Plymouth State had a 37-32 advantage in shots. Junior Gordon Ceasar finished with 27 saves for PSU in the setback.
Fitchburg State (5-7-2, 3-3-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Saturday as it hosts the Lancers of Worcester State University at 5 p.m. Plymouth State (6-4-3, 6-1-1 MASCAC) will visit the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.