WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State men's ice hockey team defeated the visiting Falcons of Fitchburg State 5-2 in a Saturday night Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Hart Recreation Center. With the win, the Lancers advance to 4-7-3 overall and 2-4-2 in the conference. The Falcons drop to 7-6-1 and 4-3-1 in the MASCAC.
Worcester State came out mighty in the first period, scoring three goals and holding the foes to none. The Lancers' rookie Ryan Flynn (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) started the scoring at 12:31 when he tuck the puck past Fitchburg's goaltender, Charles Jakobsson (Jonkoping, Sweden), after Jim LeNoir (Exton, Pa.) and Nick Patullo (Doylestown, Pa.) sent the puck into the crease on a power play. Four minutes later, Mitchell Purdie (Cavan, Ont.) tacked on another goal on assists from Khalil East (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Brandon Wedoff (Downers Grove, Ill.). Worcester State's Kyle Griffin (Marlboro, Mass.) extended the Lancers' lead to three on a power play goal on an assist from Connor McKenzie (Nashville, Tenn.).
It wasn't until the 8th minute of the second period that Fitchburg State was able to reach the scoreboard. Junior defenseman Evan Byres (New City, N.Y.) took advantage of a power play opportunity on helpers from Mike Fish (Salisbury, Mass.) and Michael Fretz (Seattle, Wash.). However, Worcester State responded with another of their own to keep their lead at three when East dealt Andrew Etheredge (Burrillville, R.I.) the puck for a goal.
Worcester State saw their largest lead of the game of four just 51 seconds into the third period when senior defenseman tallied his second point of the game and scored a power play goal on assists from Patullo and Alex Pommerville (Macedon, N.Y.). Fitchburg State gathered one more goal 2:21 minutes in the third period on a power play goal, but were not able to slip any others past Worcester's defense, resulting in the 5-2 win for Worcester State.
Throughout the game, Worcester State held a 33-29 shot advantage.
Worcester State's Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills, Calif.) earned the win in a 27-save performance, while Fitchburg State's Jakobsson suffered the loss, tallying 13 saves in 29:05 played. The Falcons' Quinn Wold (Aurora, Colo.) saw 30:47 minutes in net and racked up 15 saves.
The game saw a total of 78 penalty minutes, as Worcester had 38 on 15 infractions, and Fitchburg had 40 on 15 infractions.
The Lancers are back in action on Thursday (Jan. 19) when they travel to Westfield State for another MASCAC game. The Falcons also resume play then when they travel to Salem State for a 7 p.m. puck drop.