Lancers Rally Past Falcons in Regular Season Finale

Worcester, Mass.  – The Fitchburg State men's ice hockey team fell to the Lancers of Worcester State University 5-3 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Saturday afternoon at the Worcester Ice Center.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 3, Worcester State 5
Records: Fitchburg State (12-10-3, 9-6-3) | Worcester State (13-11-1, 12-5-1 MASCAC)

How It Happened

The Falcons opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 6:59 of the first period. Senior Hunter Fortin (Westerville, Ohio) collected a loose puck in front of the Lancers' net and deposited it in the back of the twine for the early 1-0 lead.

Senior Wyatt Wilmshurst (Massena, NY) doubled the lead less than three minutes later. Wilmshurst snapped a shot off the faceoff won by Fortin, past the Lancers netminder for the 2-0 advantage. Worcester cut the deficit in half (2-1) with a goal from Max Tucker at 15:11.

The Lancers notched the only goal of the second period when Deiter Strange potted a power-play goal at 11:49 to knot the score at 2-2.

Trailing 3-2 early in the third period, the Green and Gold tied the game with a power-play goal from Rece Bergeman (Newark, Del.). Anthony Ceolin (Simsbury, Conn.) and Antoine Gignac (Quebec City, Que.) added helpers on the score.

Needing a win in regulation to earn a first-round bye in the upcoming MASCAC tournament, the Falcons pulled netminder Max Macchioni (North Kingstown, RI) for the extra skater. Worcester State responded with a pair of empty-net goals.

Inside the Numbers

• Fitchburg State held the advantage in shots (42-25)
• Worcester State was 2-for-2 on the power-play
• Fitchburg State was 2-for-6 with the man-advantage
• Macchioni had 20 stops, while his counterpart Jakub Kubik posted 39 saves for the win

Up Next

The Falcons await the seeding for the MASCAC tournament.