Fitchburg State Handed a 4-2 Loss by Visiting Salem State

Fretz and Kramer net one goal each for Falcons in MASCAC setback

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team suffered a 4-2 conference setback to the Vikings of Salem State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action tonight at the Wallace Civic Center. 

Salem State grabbed an early advantage just 16 seconds into the contest on their first offensive shift when sophomore winger Ryan Wilkinson found teammate Michael Chen in front of the Falcon net for a one-timer, his sixth goal on the season for the 1-0 edge.

While on power play the Vikings doubled their lead (2-0) with 3:05 remaining in the first period when senior Cam Moniz found unoccupied ice; muscling his shot into the back of the net for his team leading eighth goal of the season. 

Halfway through the second period Salem State netted their third goal of the contest as junior forward Brandon Platt hit the cutting Andrew Bucci with a pass near the right face-off circle before the senior forward sent his shot stick-side for the 3-0 lead. 

Two minutes into the final period of play, the visitors upped their margin when Moniz and line-mate Daniel Campbell pushed the puck ahead to sophomore Derek Makimaa scoring low to the corner of the net for the 4-0 advantage. 

Fitchburg State denied the shutout with seven minutes remaining, while on the power-play as freshman Nick DiNicola connected with classmate Michael Fretz, who sent the puck past the Vikings net-minder Marcus Zelzer for his eighth goal of the season to cut the lead to 4-1 

Late in the third period, freshman defenseman Ricky Kramer gathered a rebound off the leg-pad of Zelzer converting the opportunity for his second goal of the season (4-2). The Falcons then pulled their goaltender for the final two minutes of play but were unable to pull any closer, resulting in the 4-2 final.

Throughout the contest Salem State University held a 37-to-23 advantage in shots, while the Green and Gold finished the contest 1-for-5 on the power play. In net, freshman Charles Jakobsson stopped 33 of the 37 shots he faced in 58:11 minutes of action for the Falcons, while. Zelzer made 21 saves for the Vikings, en-route to his eighth victory of the season.

Fitchburg State (7-9-1; 4-5-1) returns to the ice on Saturday as they travel to Plymouth State for a key MASCAC match-up at 6 p.m. Salem State (11-5-0; 7-2-0 MASCAC) will host UMass Dartmouth for a conference bout on Saturday, starting at 2 P.M. 

Release courtesy of Fitchburg State student journalist Kyle Prudhomme

 Follow the Falcons on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!