Fitchburg State Soars Past Framingham State, 5-2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Fitchburg St. (6-5-1, 4-2-1 MASCAC) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
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Framingham St. (1-10-0, 0-7-0 MASCAC) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Zerby nets first collegiate marker for Falcons in key MASCAC victory
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team returned to action this afternoon following the winter break as the Falcons defeated Framingham State, 5-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at Loring Arena.
Following a scoreless first period, Framingham State broke a 0-0 deadlock just 2:16 into the frame when junior forward Zachary D'Errico blasted a shot into the back of the net for the short-handed tally for the 1-0 advantage.
Fitchburg State knotted the score (1-1) 40 seconds later with a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity as sophomore forward Michael Fretz found classmate Connor McPherson, who buried a shot into the upper right corner for his first score on the season.
The Falcons took the lead at the 8:36 mark as sophomore forward Nick DiNicola rifled a shot inside the near post for his fourth goal of the year off an assist from freshman forward Joshua Larson to make the score 2-1 after 40 minutes of play.
In the final stanza, the Green and Gold upped its margin (3-1) four minutes into the period when freshman forward Dean Zerby gathered a feed from junior Corey Hayashi and deposited the puck into the back of the net for his first collegiate marker.
With the score 4-1, Framingham State answered with just over five minutes remaining in regulation as junior forward Tyler Colacchio settled a pass from sophomore Jake McKinnon and blasted a shot into the right side of the net for his third goal of the 2016-17 campaign.
Fitchburg State secured its sixth win on the season with 28 seconds left in the contest when senior forward Jon Johannesson struck for an empty netter as Hayashi and sophomore Josh Victor assisted on the play, resulting in the 5-2 final.
Throughout the game, Framingham State finished with a 38-28 advantage in shots, while the Falcons finished 2-for-7 on the power-play. In net, sophomore Kirby Saari stopped 36 shots for Fitchburg State in the complete game effort, while freshman Greg Harney turned away 24 shots for the Rams in 59:57 minutes of action.
Fitchburg State (6-5-1, 4-2-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Tuesday as it travels to Assumption College for contest starting at 7:35 p.m. Framingham State (1-10-0, 0-7-0 MASCAC) will host the Golden Bears of Western New England on Monday at 7:30 p.m.