Westfield State Rallies Past Fitchburg State, 3-2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Westfield St. (2-1-0, 1-1-0 MASCAC) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
|
Fitchburg St. (3-2-0, 1-1-0 MASCAC) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Bedard and Rojas net one goal each for Falcons in MASCAC setback
FITCHBURG, Mass. – Junior forward Jackson Leef recorded a hat trick for the visiting Owls as Westfield State defeated Fitchburg State, 3-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) ice hockey action this evening at the Wallace Civic Center.
Westfield State opened the scoring at the 17:26 mark as Leef collected a feed from senior Kyllian Kirkwood and sophomore Cory Wilson and fired a shot inside the far post for his third tally on the season for the 1-0 lead.
The Falcons quickly knotted the score nine seconds later when senior forward Nat Rojas deposited the puck into the lower right corner of the net for his first marker on the season to make the score 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.
Following a scoreless second period, Fitchburg State broke the 1-1 stalemate midway through the final stanza as senior Ryan Bedard rifled a shot inside the upper left corner off an assist from newcomer Nick DiNicola for his first goal on the year for the 2-1 lead.
The Owls retied the contest (2-2) at the 17:45 mark when Leef gathered a pass from senior Donovan Gardner and newcomer Sam Quaranta and wristed a shot inside the near post for his second tally of the contest. With 29 seconds remaining in regulation, Leef netted the game-winner for the visitors with his third goal of the contest as freshman Carl Greco and Kirkwood assisted on the play, resulting in the 3-2 final.
Throughout the contest, Westfield State held a 41-29 advantage in shots, while the Falcons finished 0-for-2 on the power play. In net, freshman Charles Jakobsson turned away 38 shots for Fitchburg State in 59:48 minutes of action, while junior Jonathan LoParco made 27 saves for the Owls in the complete game effort.
Fitchburg State (3-2-0, 1-1-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Saturday as it travels to Worcester State University for a matchup starting at 7 p.m. Westfield State (2-1-0, 1-1-0 MASCAC) will host the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 5:35 p.m.
