Falcons Draw Even With Lancers On Senior Night

Bergeman collects one goal and one helper

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team skated to a 3-3, overtime draw with the Lancers of Worcester State this afternoon in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from the Wallace Civic Center on senior night.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 3, Worcester State 3
Records: Fitchburg State (17-5-1, 14-3-1 MASCAC) I Worcester State (10-12-2, 7-8-2 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Worcester State opened the scoring midway through the first period as sophomore Jack Kroll (Plainfield, Ill.) collected a feed from senior Will Ahern (Charlestown, Mass.) and junior Brendan Ronan (Saugus, Mass.) and found the back of the net for his second goal on the season for the 1-0 lead.

Fitchburg State knotted the score at 1-1 two minutes later when senior Adam Kusior (Tecumseh, Ont.) blasted a shot into the upper right corner for his second tally of the year with assists from sophomore Cole Archambeault (Leominster, Mass.) and freshman Oliver Cookson (Sheffield, Mass.).

In the middle frame, the Falcons took the lead just 1:21 into the stanza with junior Rece Bergeman (Newark, Del.) settling a rebound off the stick of freshman Michael Macchioni (North Kingstown, R.I.) and flipped a shot over the left shoulder of Lancer keeper Wyatt Friedlander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) for his eighth marker of the 2021-22 campgaign to make the score 2-1.

The Lancers retied the contest (2-2) at the 12:12 mark when junior Kevin Drevitch (Oxford, N.J.) deposited a shot into the right side of the net for his fourth score on the year as freshman Max Tucker (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and classmate Max Moriarty (East Longmeadow, Mass.) assisted on the play.

Worcester State regained the lead at the 16:27 mark with senior Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass.) receiving a pass from senior Max Roth (Chicago, Ill.) and Ronan and struck for his seventh tally on the season for the 3-2 edge.

In the final period of play, the Green and Gold tied the contest at 3-3 when freshman Toivo Kramer (New York, N.Y.) blasted a shot into the left side of the net for his seventh goal of the year with assists from classmate Thomas Harty (Billerica, Mass.) and Bergeman.

In the overtime period, Worcester State's best scoring opportunity was when Roth put a shot on frame that Falcon netmider Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) turned aside, while junior Gene Bouthiette (Enfield, Conn.) had the Falcons best scoring chance, but Friedlander was able to deny that shot, resulting in the 3-3, overtime draw.

Prior to the contest, the Fitchburg State Ice Hockey team honored seniors #2 Zachary Cormier, #7 Brian Glover, #12 Jordin Holmes, #18 Adam Kusior, #29 Brian McGrath and Kevin Perry for their contributions to the program.

By the Numbers

• 71st meeting between the Falcons and the Lancers on the ice with Fitchburg State 46-20-5 all-time when taking on Worcester State
• Fitchburg State held a 34-31 edge in shots
• Worcester State went 1-for-4 with the man advantage
• McGrath stopped 28 shots for the Falcons
• Friedlander made 31 saves for the Lancers

Up Next

Falcons conclude their 2022 regular season this after and await its seeding into the upcoming 2021-22 MASCAC Ice Hockey Post-Season Tournament. Lancers will host the Rams of Framingham State on Monday for a MASCAC tilt, starting at 3:50 PM.