Fitchburg State Doubles Up Franklin Pierce, 4-2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (5-5-1) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
|
Franklin Pierce (6-5-0) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
DiNicola nets two markers for Falcons in non-conference victory
RINDGE, N.H. – Sophomore forward Nick DiNicola tallied two goals as the Fitchburg State hockey team defeated the Ravens of Franklin Pierce University in non-conference action at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena this evening.
Fitchburg State opened the scoring just 1:14 into the first period as senior forward Mike Fish received a feed from freshman Christopher Vicario and junior Corey Hayashi before depositing the puck into the back of the net for his first tally on the year for the 1-0 lead.
In the second period of play, Fitchburg State doubled its advantage (2-0) at the 4:19 mark when newcomer Joshua Larson connected on his first collegiate tally off assists from junior James Gordon and sophomore Josh Victor.
The Green and Gold upped its lead moments later as DiNicola redirected a shot off the stick of freshman Tyler Warila in front of the net for his second marker on the season for the 3-0 margin after 40 minutes of play.
In the final period, Fitchburg State extended its lead 3:41 into the frame when Warila found DiNicola again for his second goal of the contest to make the score 4-0. Franklin Pierce broke its scoring silence one minute later as sophomore forward Nick Indelicato settled a feed from junior Jonathan Haun and sophomore Jack Williams for his fifth score of the year to cut the lead to 4-1.
The Ravens struck again at the 7:24 mark when senior defenseman Alex Schleper converted a power-play tally for this second goal on the season as Huan and newcomer Matthew Toombs assisted on the play, resulting in the 4-2 final.
Throughout the game, Fitchburg State held a 26-18 advantage in shots, while Franklin Pierce went 1-for-6 on the power-play. In goal, sophomore Kirby Saari stopped 18 shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while junior Tom McGuckin made 21 saves for the Ravens in 43:38 minutes of action.
Fitchburg State (5-5-1 3-2-1 MASCAC) returns to action after the break as it travels to Framingham State on Saturday, January 7th for a contest starting at 2:40 p.m. Franklin Pierce (6-5-0, 2-1-0 NE-10) will hosts Southern New Hampshire tomorrow at 3 p.m.