Falcons Edged By Greyhounds, 3-2

Mattone stops 27 shots in collegiate debut

Worcester, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University ice hockey team suffered a tough 3-2 setback to the Greyhounds of Assumption College this evening in non-conference action at the Buffone Arena.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Assumption 3

Records: Fitchburg State (1-2) | Assumption (4-0)

How It Happened

Assumption opened the scoring at the 6:45 mark of the first period as freshman Michael Zampanti (Winthrop, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club) connected on his first collegiate tally for the 1-0 advantage.

The Greyhounds doubled their lead (2-0) with just under five minutes left the first period when senior Dante Tomassini (North Branford, Conn./Connecticut Jr. Wolfpack) deposited a shot inside the near post for his fourth goal of the year. Fitchburg State cut the deficit in half minutes later as senior Ricky Kramer (Barnstead, N.H./East Coast Wizards) netted his team-leading third score of the year to make the score 2-1.

In the second period, the Falcons knotted the score (2-2) just 4:27 into the frame when junior Kyle Hillick (Byfield, Mass./Hawkesbury Hawks) gathered  a feed from senior Michael Fretz (Seattle, Wash./Victoria Cougars) and struck for his second score of the 2018-19 campaign.

Assumption regained the lead at the 16:59 mark as senior Peter McDonough (Latrobe, Penn./Boston Jr. Bruins) received a pass from sophomore John Chamberlain (Amesbury, Mass./Williston North Hampton School) and wristed a shot into the lower right corner for his second marker of the year for the 3-2 edge.

In the final period of play, Fitchburg State nearly retied the contest as sophomore Sascha Figi (Kloten, Switzerland/Atlanta Capitals) and senior Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn./Springfield Pics) but back-to-back shots on frame, but Assumption keeper David Zulauf (Rochester, Mich./Bridgton Academy) turned aside both shots, resulting in the 3-2 final.

Inside the Numbers

This evening's contest will mark the 38th meeting between the two teams on the ice with the Falcons currently 28-9-1 all-time when taking on the Grey Hounds

Fitchburg State had won three of the last five contests with Assumption College, including an 8-3 decision last season at the Wallace Civic Center.

In between the pipes, freshman Christopher Mattone (New Windsor, N.Y./New England Wolves) made 27 saves for the Falcons in the setback, Zulauf stopped 20 shots for the Greyhounds in the victory.

Assumption finished with a 30-22 margin in shots, while Fitchburg State finished 1-for-6 with the man advantage.

Up Next

Falcons will host the Panthers of Plymouth State University on Thursday for a MASCAC clash, starting at 7:00 PM. Greyhounds will host Stonehill College on Tuesday in NE-10 action at 7:35 PM.