Falcons Fly Past Owls on Hockey Day in the ‘Burg

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State Falcons ice hockey team opened Hockey Day in the "Burg with a 6-3 victory over the Owls of Westfield State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this afternoon at the Wallace Civic Center.

In a pre-game ceremony Jake Thibeault, a member of the local hockey community, dropped the opening face-off. Thibeault, a Fitchburg native and a member of the Milton Academy hockey team, was left paralyzed from the waist down after an on-ice accident in September.

Hockey Day in the 'Burg is a trio of games starting with the Falcons. In the second tilt, Milton Academy will face the Pomfret School at 5:30 p.m. and the nightcap will feature Fitchburg High School vs. Lunenburg High School at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds from the day will benefit the Thibeault Family Rehabilitation Trust.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 6, Westfield State 3
Records: Fitchburg State (9-4, 7-2 MASCAC) |Westfield State (7-5-2, 2-3-2 MASCAC)

How It Happened

The Green and Gold earned the early lead in the first frame as freshman Zackery Diamont (Billerica, Mass.) put back a rebound off the initial shot from junior Joshua Miller (Saint Augustine, Fla) for his sixth goal of the season.

In the second frame, junior Rece Bergeman (Newark, Del) doubled the Falcons margin (2-0) with a power-play goal less than a minute into the second period.

The Owls would score the next two to knot the score at 2-all. First senior Jason Diamond (Lakeville, Conn.) notched his fourth of the season from sophomore Ryan Candia (Woolwich Township, NJ) at the four-minute mark of the second. Just 1:36 into the third period, the game was tied as junior Spencer DeRidder (FairPoint, NY) scored his first goal of the season.

It was all Fitchburg State after that. First-year Toivo Kramer (New York, NY) would break the tie with a goal midway through the third frame. Then, in a span of 30 seconds sophomore Cole Archambeault (Leominster, Mass.) and Joshua Miller would tip the twine to push the lead to 5-2.

Both teams would trade goals down the stretch for the 6-3 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Joshua Miller (1 goal, 1 assist) and Wyatt Wilmshurst (2 assists) each had 2 points for Fitchburg
• Ten different Falcons each had one point in the victory
• DeRidder led the Owls with 2 goals
• The Falcons were 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Owls were 0-for-4 with the man-advantage
• Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) had 23 saves for his seventh win of the season
• Valtteri Valtonen stopped 45 shots in the loss for Westfield

Up Next

The Falcons will host Framingham State on Tuesday in MASCAC action starting at 3:30 PM.