Fitchburg State Upended By Westfield State, 4-1

Kramer nets second tally on the season for the Falcons in MASCAC setback 

FITCHBURG, Mass. – Senior forward Jackson Leef netted a hat-trick for the Owls as Fitchburg State University (7-6-1, 4-3-1 MASCAC) fell to Westfield State University (8-6, 4-4 MASCAC), 4-1, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) ice hockey matchup on Thursday night at the Wallace Civic Center. 

Westfield State tallied the only score of the first frame at the 6:52 mark as Leaf collected a loose puck in the crease for his tenth marker of the season with junior Donovan Gardiner and freshman Francis-Xavier Girard assisting on the score for the 1-0 advantage after 20 minutes of play.

The Owls doubled the lead (2-0) in the second period when sophomore Wyatt Trembley collected a puck just inside the blue line and fired a slap-shot into the back of the net for his second tally on the season.

The visitors pushed the lead to 3-0 just 36 seconds later with a power-play goal off the stick of Leef for his second goal on the night on assists from Xavier-Girard and sophomore Carl Greco.

Fitchburg State answered at 16:25 mark as sophomore Nick DiNicola found a streaking Ricky Kramer wide open in the slot as Kramer finished with a top shelf score to cut the deficit to 3-1 heading into the second intermission.

In the final period of play, the Owls upped its margin just four minutes into the frame when Leef collected a pass from freshmen Marcus Payne and Daniel Backstrom to complete the hat trick, resulting in the 4-1 final.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State finished with a slim 35-34 edge in shots, while Westfield State went 1-for-8 with the man advantage. In net, sophomore Kirby Saari made 30 saves in the complete game effort for the Falcons, while senior Jonathan LoParco stopped 34 for the 35 shots he faced in 60 minutes of work for the Owls.