WORCESTER, Mass. – The Falcons of Fitchburg State snapped Worcester State's men's ice hockey eight-game winning streak and served the Lancers their first loss of the season in a Saturday evening Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup.
THE BASICS
December 2, 2017
Worcester Ice Center
Score: Fitchburg State 4, Worcester State 2
Records: Fitchburg State (7-3-1, 3-2-1 MASCAC) | Worcester State (8-1-0, 5-1-0 MASCAC)
1ST PERIOD
The first period was a battle as Worcester State recorded 10 shots and Fitchburg State drilled 11 shots on net. Both goaltenders did not allow one shot to slip by, which resulted in a 0-0 score going into the second period.
2ND PERIOD
Despite Worcester State outshooting Fitchburg State 16-7 in the second frame, Fitchburg State came away with a 2-0 edge at the end of the period. The Falcons' broke through with a tally 4:14 into the second as Corey Hayashi (Toronto, Ont.) and Joseph Miller (Marlton, N.J.) setup Michael Fretz (Seattle, Wash.) for a goal. At 9:22 into the second period Sascha Figi (Kolten, Switzerland) put the Falcons up 2-0 on helpers from Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.) and Christopher Vicario (Cranston, R.I.).
3RD PERIOD
The third period saw four goals, all scored in the last 10 minutes of the stanza. The Lancers' Ryan Flynn (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) put a number on the scoreboard for Worcester State just under the 10-minute marker on assists from Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.) and Brandon Wedoff (Downers Grove, Ill.). Two minutes later, Fitchburg State's DiNicola fired back with his fifth goal of the season aided by Evan Byrnes (New City, N.Y.). Worcester State got within one once again 13:57 into the frame as Nick Patullo (Doylestown, Pa.) passed ahead on the left side to Alex Pommerville (Macedon, N.Y.) who sliced the puck past Kirby Saari (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) for the 3-2 score. The final five minutes of play was exciting for each team, however, Fitchburg State sealed the win an empty net goal from James Gordon (Hingham, Mass.) with 10 seconds to go for the 4-2 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- DiNicola guided the Falcons with a goal and an assist in the win.
- Saari saw a great performance in net this evening as he turned away 35-of-37 shots on net for a .946 save percentage.
- Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills, Calif.) suffered his first loss of the season, totaling 24 saves in the setback.
- Worcester State held a 34-33 edge in faceoffs, as Matthew Manning (Novi, Mich.) won a game-high 14.
- Fitchburg State went 1-for-4 on power play opportunities, while Worcester State saw five chances with no power play goals scored.
- The Lancers are 16-30-3 all-time against the Falcons.
UP NEXT
Worcester State returns home on Friday (Dec. 12) as they will entertain Post in a 7 p.m. tilt at the Worcester Ice Center.
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