Fitchburg State Drops Home Opener to SNHU, 5-2

FITCHBURG, Mass. - The Fitchburg State University men's ice hockey team opened the 2016-17 campaign with a 5-2 loss to the visiting Southern New Hampshire University Penman at Wallace Civic Center on Friday evening.

The Penman cashed in quickly tallying an unassisted goal off a slapshot from the slot by Jay Silvia less than a minute into the opening frame. The Penman would later register a goal on Griffin Rogers' shorthanded breakaway at 14:26 for a 2-0 advantage.

The Penman established a physical fore-check that initially prevented the Falcons from generating much offense, however the Falcons answered in the second period with a shorthanded breakaway goal by Cameron Snyder. Senior Jon Johannesson initiated the play with a nifty outlet pass. Despite a consistent attacking zone effort, Fitchburg State conceded a pair goals in the second frame and trailed 4-1 after forty minutes of play.

SNHU extended their lead to 5-1 with a Brett Strawn's power play goal midway through the third period.  Fitchburg State's Ricky Kramer set up James Gordon for his first of the season with five and a half minutes remaining for the 5-2 final.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State finished with a 42-27 margin in shots, while the Penmen went 1-for-5 with the man advantage. In between the pipes, Charles Jakobsson stopped 13 of the 17 shots he faced over two periods, while Quinn Wold stopped 9-of-10 in relief work for the Falcons, Ryan Slatky made 40 saves for Southern New Hampshire in the complete game effort. 

Fitchburg State (0-1-0, 0-0-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Tuesday November 1^st when the travel to New England College for a 7 p.m. tilt. Southern New Hampshire (1-0-0) will take Franklin Pierce Friday November 4^th at 7 p.m.

Release courtesy of Conner Ghiz, Chiara Haendel

The Falcon Report