Falcons Sail Past Vikings, 6-3

Falcons Sail Past Vikings, 6-3

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's ice hockey team downed the Vikings of Salem State University, 6-3 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Saturday night at Wallace Civic Center.

The Basics
Score: Fitchburg State 6, Salem State 3
Records: Fitchburg State (9-6-2, 6-2-2 MASCAC) | Salem State (5-11-1, 4-7 MASCAC)

How it Happened
The Falcons tipped the twin first at the six minute mark of the first period. Sophomore Kevin Perry (Hull, Mass.) collected the Connor McPherson (Clovis, Calif.) pass for his fifth goal of the season and the early 1-0 lead.

The Vikings answered with a pair of tallies to take a 2-1 advantage. Just thirty seconds later freshman Ryan Tierney (Methuen, Mass.) notched his first collegiate goal, then Tierney found linemate Joe Smith (Holbrook, Mass.) for his first of the season.  

With two minutes remaining in the frame the Falcon broke out of their zone with a two-on-one advantage. Streaking down the left wing junior Kyle Hillick (Byfield, Mass.) threaded a cross-ice pass to Ryan Murphy (Wayzata, Minn.) who blistered a wrist-shot past the Viking goaltender.

Senior Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.) regained the lead for the Falcons as he slipped the puck past junior Sean Cleary (Barnstable, Mass.) for his seventh goal of the season, giving the Falcons the 3-2 lead after one.

Salem knotted the game scoring the lone goal of the second stanza. Freshman Bret Parker (Hanover, Mass.) found Smith in front of the Falcons net his second goal of the game at the 16:06 mark.

The Falcons re-gained the lead just two minutes into the last period. DiNicola collected a juicy loose puck and deposited it into an open weak-side of the net for his second score of the game. Sophomore Sascha Figi (Kloten, Switzerland) and McPherson added assists on the goal. Figi added a pair of insurance goals, posting his 19^th goal of the season with a power-play marker at the 6:37 mark and an empty net goal to seal the victory, 6-3.

Inside the Numbers

• Fitchburg State goalkeeper Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) registered 42 saves between the pipes for the Falcons, while his counterpart Cleary posted 45 saves.
• The Falcons held the advantage in shots (51-45 ), and converted 2-for-6 with the man-advantage.
• Both Figi and DiNicola finished with 2 goals and 2 assists for the Green and Gold.
• Smith had two goals for the Vikings, while Tierney ended with a goal and a helper.
• This evening's contest marked the 53rd meeting between the two team on the ice with the Falcons currently 10-36-6 all-time when taking on the Vikings.
• Fitchburg State has won two of the last three matchups with Salem State as the Vikings came away with a 2-1 triumph earlier this season at the Rockett Ice Arena.

Up Next

Fitchburg State University hits the ice on Thursday at 7:30pm, traveling to Westfield State for a MASCAC bout, while Salem State travels to New England College on Tuesday evening for a 7:00 pm non-conference match-up.