Fitchburg State Nipped By Westfield State, 5-4

Ziegenfuss nets first collegiate tally for Falcons in MASCAC setback

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team was in action this evening, dropping a tough 5-4 decision to the Owls of Westfield State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Amelia Park Ice Arena.

Fitchburg State took the lead just 3:45 into the first period as freshman forward Tyler Warila received a feed from senior Cameron Snyder and sophomore Nick DiNicola and found the back of the net for his team-leading fifth goal of the season for the 1-0 margin.

Westfield State knotted the score (1-1) roughly three and half minutes later when junior forward Nik Passero struck for his second marker on the year off assists from sophomore Carl Greco and junior Donovan Gardiner.

The Falcons regained the lead midway through the opening frame as freshman forward Edward Ziegenfuss buried a shot inside the near post for his first collegiate tally for the 2-1 advantage before the Green and Gold made it 3-1 at the 10:45 mark when Snyder gathered a pass from DiNicola and senior Jordan Furlane for his second tally of the 2016 campaign.

The Owls cut into the deficit with just over one minute remaining in the first period as sophomore forward Mason Wade settled a pass from newcomer Samuel Gagnon  and slipped a shot into the upper right corner to make the score 3-2 after one period of play.

In the middle frame, Fitchburg State upped its lead 1:21 into the stanza on Michael Fretz's second goal on the season for the 4-2 edge before Westfield State answered back (4-3) with a score off the stick of Greco two and a half minutes later.

The hosts retied the contest 9:36 into the second period as senior forward Jackson Leef blasted a shot into the back of the net for his second goal of the year to make the score 4-4 going into the final period of play.

In the third period, the Owls broke the 4-4 stalemate midway through the frame when freshman forward Francis-Xavier Girard found classmate Daniel Backstrom in front of the net, who proceeded to deposit the puck into the left side of net for his second tally on the year, resulting in the 5-4 final.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State held a 39-34 advantage in shots, while the Owls finished 2-for-5 on the power-play. In net, sophomore Kirby Saari made 18 saves for the Falcons in 29:16 minutes of action, while freshman Kameron Limburg stopped 35 shots for Westfield State in the complete game effort.

Fitchburg State (1-3-0, 1-1-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Saturday as it hosts the Lancers of Worcester State University for a contest starting at 4 p.m. Westfield State (3-1-0, 1-1-0 MASCAC) will host UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 5:35 p.m.

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