Fitchburg State Holds Off Worcester State, 3-2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (9-10-2, 7-6-1) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
|
Worcester St. (4-14-2, 3-10-1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Byrnes nets first collegiate tally in Falcons MASCAC victory
WORCESTER, Mass. – Three different Falcons collected goals as the Fitchburg State ice hockey team rallied past the Lancers of Worcester State University, 3-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at the Hart Recreation Center.
Fitchburg State opened the scoring just 37 seconds into the first period as junior forward John Celli gathered a feed from sophomore Cameron Snyder and classmate Max Lorenzen and fired a shot into the back of the net for his tenth mark of the season for the 1-0 advantage after 20 minutes of play.
In the middle frame, the Lancers knotted the score (1-1) at the 1:50 mark when freshman defenseman Alex Pommerville struck for his second tally on the season an assist from senior Brenton Dyok.
Worcester State would grab the lead with just under a minute and half remaining in the frame as junior RJ Byrne received a pair of passes from seniors Nathan Stanley and Stephen Rock and blasted a shot inside the near post for his second goal of the season for the 2-1 margin going into the final period.
In the third stanza, the Green and Gold retied the game (2-2) at the 13:30 mark on the power-play, when Celli slide a pass over to newcomer Evan Byrnes, who proceeded to rifle a shot into the lower left corner of the net for his first collegiate score.
With time winding down in regulation, the Falcons capitalized again with the man advantage as junior forward Ryan Connolly fired a shot from the far slot into the right side of net for his seventh goal on the year as Byrnes assisted on the play, resulting in the 3-2 final.
For the contest, Worcester State held a 43-23 margin in shots, while the Falcons converted 2-of-5 power-play opportunities. Between the pipes, senior Ryan Wysocki posted 41 saves for Fitchburg State in the complete game effort, while freshman Tyler Fallica totaled 20 stops for the Lancers in 58:33 minutes of action.
Fitchburg State (9-10-2, 7-6-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Saturday as it hosts the Owls of Westfield State University for a contest starting at 5:30 p.m. Worcester State (4-13-2, 3-9-1 MASCAC) will host Framingham State on Sunday at 4 p.m.