Fitchburg State 3, Worcester State 2 OT
Auburn, MA --- Sophomore Kevin McCready (Poughkeepsie, NY) score the game-winning goal 49 seconds into overtime to help lift Fitchburg State to a 3-2 triumph this evening over Worcester State in MASCAC ice hockey action.
The Lancers (5-10, 3-7 MASCAC) drew first blood of the contest at 8:06 when junior Chris Wallin (Avon, CT) the first of his two goals on assists by senior Mark Rintel (Oakland Gardens, NY) and Justin Brownstein (Wyncote, PA). The Falcons (13-3-1, 8-2 MASCAC) answered 11 minutes later when freshman John Vets (Hamden, CT) lit up the siren on a dish by McCready.
WSC tallied the only goal of the second frame to go up 2-1 when Wallin sent in his second marker and fourth goal this season as Rintel and first-year Eric Rutz (Mechanicsburg, PA) added helpers on the play.
Play continued to go back and forth until Fitchburg State knotted the game 2-2 at the 13:25 mark on junior Andrew Jones's (Franklin, MA) second goal of the year. That set the stage for McCready's heroics in the final stanza as he netted his seventh marker of the season.
Fitchburg State goalkeeper Robert Vorse (Leominster, MA) improved his record to 6-2-1 on the season as he collected 25 saves while senior Andrew Evans (Cromwell, CT) stopped 50 of the 53 shots he saw on net. 50 saves for Evans - whose record drops to 2-5 - was a career high.
Both teams will entertain MASCAC opponents on Saturday evening. Worcester State will host Westfield State at 7:30 while the Plymouth State visit the Wallace Civic Center to take on the first-place Falcons at 4 o'clock.