Falcons Rally Past Corsairs, 2-1 (OT)

Ceolin nets game winner for Fitchburg State in MASCAC victory

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team defeated the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth 2-1 in overtime in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening from the Wallace Civic Center.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 2, UMass Dartmouth 1
Records: Fitchburg State (5-2-1, 3-1-1 MASCAC) | UMass Dartmouth (2-7-0, 2-3-0 MASCAC)

How It Happened

After a scoreless first period, UMass Dartmouth nearly took the lead 2:49 into the second frame as junior Eric Bolden (Oswego, Ill.) fired a shot on frame that slipped past Falcon goaltender Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.), but sophomore Jordin Holmes (Willow Grove, Penn.) was able to sweep the puck off the goal line to keep the game knotted at 0-0.

Fitchburg State's best scoring chance of the stanza occurred late in the period when freshman Wyatt Wilmshurst (Massena, N.Y.) put a shot on goal, only to have Corsair keeper David Davidson (Surrey, B.C.) make an outstanding save to his left as the score remained dead locked at 0-0 going into the third period of play.

In the third period, UMass Dartmouth grabbed the lead midway through the stanza as Bolden collected a feed from senior Steven Leonard (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) and found the back of the net for his second tally on the year for the 1-0 edge.

Fitchburg State managed to knot the score at 1-1 with just over two and half minutes remaining in regulation with freshman Adam Kusior (Tecumseh, Ont.) connected on his second tally of the season off an assist from senior Dean Zerby (Harrisburg, Penn.).

In the overtime period, the Green and Gold broke the 0-0 stalemate one minute into the extra frame when newcomer Anthony Ceolin (Simsbury, Conn.) settled a rebound off a shot by Zerby and deposited a shot inside the near post for his second goal of the 2019-20 campaign, resulting in the 2-1 final.

By the Numbers

• 79th meeting between the two squads with the Falcons 31-41-7 all-time vs the Corsairs
• Fitchburg State finished with a slim 37-33 margin in shots
• UMass Dartmouth went 0-for-6 with the man advantage
• McGrath stopped 32 shots for the Falcons
• Davidson made 35 saves for the Corsairs

Up Next

Falcons will travel to Worcester State on Saturday to take on the Lancers for a MASCAC matchup, starting at 8:00 PM. Corsairs will visit Westfield State on the same date for a conference tilt at 5:35 PM.