Fitchburg, Mass. – The Worcester State ice hockey team earned their second consecutive Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory with a 3-1 win over Fitchburg State on Saturday evening at Wallace Civic Center. 

The Lancers improve to 4-2 in MASCAC play and 5-6 overall, while sending the Falcons to 6-3 and a similar 4-2 conference mark. 

Junior forward Brendan Ronan (Saugus, Mass.) had two goals and an assist for the Lancers. 

Worcester State opened the scoring at the 3:34 mark of the first period when Ronan gathered a feed from freshman Bridgham Neuhold (Edmund, Okla.) and junior Mike Wilson (Alexandria, Va.) and deposited a shot inside the far post for his fourth marker on the season for the 1-0 edge.

The Lancers doubled their advantage just ten seconds into the middle frame as senior Henry Bruckner (Franklin, Mass.) converted a power-play tally off an assist from Ronan for his second goal of the year to make the score 2-0.

The visitors upped their lead at the 13:34 mark of the middle frame with Ronan collecting a loose puck of his own rebound and slipping a shot into the lower left corner for his second goal of the contest.

Fitchburg State nearly answered late in the stanza as junior Hunter Fortin (Westerville, Ohio) skated in on a breakaway, but Lancer keeper Jakub Kubik (Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic) turned the shot aside to preserve the 3-0 margin.

In the final period of play, Fitchburg State broke its scoring silence midway through the stanza when freshman Zackery Diamont (Billerica, Mass.) buried a shot into the right of the net for his fifth score of the 2021-22 campaign with assists from junior Rece Bergeman (Newark, Del.) and newcomer Thomas Harty (Billerica, Mass.) resulting in the 3-1 final.

Worcester State finished with a slim 46-43 margin in shots. Kubik stopped 32 shots in the win, while Fitchburg senior Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) made 33 saves. 

The Falcons return to action on Tuesday as they travel to New England College to take on the Pilgrims for a non-conference matchup, starting at 7:00 PM.

The Lancers will host Stonehill College on Friday for a non-conference tilt at 6:50 PM.