Ice Hockey Rallies Past Owls In Conference Action

Soderberg makes 26 saves for Green and Gold

Fitchburg, Mass. The Fitchburg State ice hockey team defeated the Owls of Westfield State University, 5-4 this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from the Wallace Civic Center.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 5, Westfield State 4

Records: Fitchburg State (13-7-2 12-4-2 MASCAC) I Westfield State (12-10-2, 9-9-2 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Following a scoreless first period, Westfield State opened the scoring 1:18 into the middle stanza as sophomore Cooper Board (Salem, MA) received a feed from classmate Danny Finegan (Chicago, IL) and junior Dawson Garcia (Oakville, ONT) and deposited a shot into the lower right corner for his fifth tally on the season for the 1-0 margin.

The Owls doubled the lead to 2-0 midway through the frame when sophomore Julian Boisclair (Voorhees, NJ) found the back of net for his seventh goal of the year off an assist from freshman Raphael Seguin (Saint-Lazare, QUE). The visitors pushed the lead to 3-0 roughly a minute and half later with freshman Emile Pichette (Saint-Eustache, QUE) gathering a pass from classmate Christopher Miraldo (Montreal, QUE) and junior Gianluca Marini (Lighthouse Point, FL) and put a shot into the left side of the net for his ninth score of the 2023-24 campaign.

Fitchburg State cut the deficit to 3-1 with four and half minutes remaining in the period as graduate student Antoine Gignac (Quebec City, QUE) slipped shot inside the lower left corner for his fourth marker of the season with assists from freshman Kristopher Zapata (Cherry Hill, NJ) and classmate Hunter Dunn (Douglas, MA).

The Green and Gold answered again at the 18:52 mark with freshman Andrew Woloszyn (Windham, NH) burying a shot far side for his first collegiate tally as junior Michael Macchioni (North Kingstown, RI) and sophomore Trenton Skaggs (Oconomowoc, WI) assisted on the play to make the score 3-2.

In the final period of play, Westfield State extended the lead to 4-2 at the 8:45 mark when Pichette netted his second score of the contest with assists from Miraldo and Garcia. Fitchburg State answered back two minutes later with Mcacchioni potting his fourth tally of the year assisted by newcomer Adam Nedelka (Srch, Czech Republic) and sophomore Nolan Sargent (Littleton, CO) to reduce the lead to 4-3,

The Falcons knotted the score at 4-4 with just under four minutes remaining in regulation when newcomer Graham Broadfoot (Dublin, OH) settled a feed from junior Toivo Kramer (New York, NY) and freshman Alexandre Bauvais (Meudon, France) and blasted a shot into the right side of net for his second score of the season.

The Green and Gold secured the victory at the 16:16 mark with newcomer Jackson Collins (Wake Forest, NC) wristing a shot into left side of net for his second goal of the 2023-24 campaign as Skaggs picked up the assist, resulting in the 5-4 final.

By the Numbers

• 47th meeting between the Falcons and the Owls on the ice with Fitchburg State 30-14-3 all-time when taking on Westfield State
• Fitchburg State held a narrow 32-30 advantage in shots
• Owls finished 1-for-3 with the man advantage
• Freshman Frederick Soderberg (Harrison Township, MI) stopped 26 shots for the Falcons
• Junior Kevin Chandler (Hanover, MA) made 27 saves for the Owls

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday when they travel to Framingham State to take on the Rams for a conference clash, starting at 7:40PM.

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