Falcons Skate to Tie with Worcester State, 4-4

McGrath makes 43 saves in stalemate

Fitchburg, Mass. The Fitchburg State University men's ice hockey team skated to a 4-4 overtime tie with the Lancers of Worcester State University on Saturday evening in Massachusetts Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Wallace Civic Center.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State University 4, Worcester State University 4
Records: Fitchburg State (10-5-3, 5-4-3 MASCAC) | Worcester State (11-6-1, 6-5-1 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Worcester State jumped out first, as freshman Matthew Manning (Novi, Michigan) gave the visitors the lead at the 12:38 mark of the first frame.

Fitchburg State University evened the score less than two minutes later, when Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.) converted a Tyler Warila (Shirley, Mass.) pass at 13:50.

The Lancers broke the tie (2-1) with 1:56 to play in the stanza thanks to a Tim Drevitch (Oxford, NJ) short-handed tally.

Warila scored consecutive goals to give the hosts a 3-2 lead. He evened the score (2-2) midway through the second period with an unassisted marker and the only scoring play of the frame. He posted his eleventh goal of the season at 8:45 of the third period for the first lead of the day for the Green and Gold.

Sophomore Christopher Vicario (Cranston, RI) gave the Falcons a two-goal advantage, when he tallied off a Corey Hayashi (Toronto, Ont.) rebound to make it 4-2 at 9:31.

However, Worcester cut the deficit to 4-3, with a second goal of the game from Drevitch at 13:24. Drevitch completed the hat-trick with a game-tying power-play score with 2:41 to play for the 4-4 final.

Inside the Numbers

Warila led the Falcons with two goals and an assist, while DiNicola added a goal and an assist.

Freshman Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) finished with 43 saves for Fitchburg, while his counter-part junior Cory Lignelli (Glastonbury, Conn.) posted 30 saves in the tie.

Drevitch finished the night with three goal and Manning added a goal and a helper for the Lancers.

Up Next

Tomorrow Fitchburg State University hosts Colby College at 5:00pm, while the Lancers return to the ice on Thursday evening as they host Plymouth State University at 7:00pm.