WORCESTER, Mass. - Sophomore Sascha Figi (Kloten, Switzerland) broke a tie with 0.5 seconds left on the clock as the Worcester State University men's ice hockey team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Fitchburg State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action at the Worcester Ice Center Saturday evening.
With the loss the Lancers fall 5-4-0 (3-3-0 in MASCAC play). The Falcons advance to 6-3-2 (3-1-2 in MASCAC).
Figi opened up the night scoring his first goal three minutes into the first period when he found the back of the net after an assistant from Kyle Hillick (Byfield, Mass.) and Ricky Kramer (Barnstead, N.H.). Figi's shot was the only tally in the first period, sending the Falcons into the second with a 1-0 lead.
Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.) didn't let the Falcons hold the lead for long when he netted the Lancers' first goal just 27 seconds into the second period with assists from Cody Weaver (West Greenwich, R.I.) and Mitch Purdie (Peterborough, Ont.). Fitchburg State went ahead again on Figi's second tally of the night when he sailed one in to the back of the net on an assist from Jordin Holmes (Willow Grove, Penn.) and Chris Vicario (Cranston, R.I.). Tim Drevitch (Oxford, N.J.) refused to let the Lancers head into the third period at a deficit and tied up the score 2-2 off Weaver's second assist of the game 16 minutes into the period.
The third period saw a battle of defenses until Figi completed his hat trick when he sent a last second shot into the back of the net giving the Falcons a 3-2 win.
Aaron Callan (South Lyon, Mich.) made 28 saves for the Lancers in the loss. Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) picked up 35 saves in the win for the Falcons.
Up next for the Lancers will travel to Western New England University on Thursday night. The puck will drop at 7 p.m. The Falcons are off until January 5th when they travel to UMass Dartmouth with a 6 p.m. start.
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