FITCHBURG, Mass. – Worcester State University's sophomore forward Mitchell Purdie (Cavan, Ont.) scored a pair of goals in the Lancers' 4-2 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) win over Fitchburg State on Monday evening at the Wallace Civic Center.
The first period got off to a quick start for the Worcester State Lancers as freshman Colin Whitt (South Lake, Texas) netted his first collegiate goal 5:55 into the first period. The Lancers continued their scoring with a goal by Marcus Mazur (Beverly Hills, Mich.) five minutes later. The Falcons hammered the Lancers offensively throughout the entire first period, both in physicality and with scoring opportunities. Their work paid off with 3:49 remaining in the period as Brandon Ecklund scored off of a pass from Corey Hayashi to bring the Falcons back within one goal of the Lancers.
A strong penalty kill by Fitchburg early in the second period kept Worcester at bay. Worcester State ramped up the shots, with 11 on the power-play, almost doubling their first period total shots. The Lancers extended their lead to 3-1 with a solid shot by Purdie from the slot at 16:29 of the second period. The strong play continued from both teams throughout the period, keeping the game up for grabs.
Twenty-five seconds into the third period, while still on the power-play, Nick DiNicola put the puck into a wide open net off a perfect cross crease pass from teammate Ricky Kramer to again cut the Lancers lead back down to one. Two more Worcester penalties late in the game gave the Falcons a chance to tie the game up, but the Lancers penalty kill stayed strong. Worcester added an empty net goal with a minute left to play to cement their victory over the Falcons 4-2.
Sophomore netminder Quinn Wold posted 25 saves in the loss, his counterpart Cory Lignelli (Glastonbury, Conn.) turned back 21 shots for his fourth victory of the season.
Worcester held a slight advantage in shots (29-23) and was 1-for-3 with the man advantage, while the Falcons were 1-for-4 on the power play.
Fitchburg State University (10-12-1, 7-8-1 MASCAC) will travel on Plymouth State University on Thursday, February 16 for a MASCAC match-up, puck drop is slated for 6:00 p.m. Worcester State (8-11-3, 6-8-2 MASCAC) travels tomorrow night to Assumption for a 7:30 pm tilt.
Release Courtesy of Fitchburg State Sports Information