FITCHBURG, Mass.- The Worcester State University men's ice hockey team skated past the Falcons 5-2 Saturday evening against Fitchburg State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action at the Wallace Civic Center.

With the win, the Lancers advance to 10-7-1 (6-5-1 MASCAC). The Falcons fall to 9-8-2 overall (6-4-2 MASCAC).

In the first period, Jake Karelas (Melrose, Mass.) took a shot that rebounded off of the pads of Fitchburg State's goalie, Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.). He grabbed his own rebound and sent it to teammate Matthew Manning (Novi, Mich.) who put it into the back of the net from the left side of the ice. Both teams played strong defense but went into the locker rooms 1-0 Lancers.

Second period scoring started when CJ Buckingham (Pembroke, Mass.) sent the puck out to Kyle Hater (Helena, Mont.) from behind the net. Hater sailed the puck towards the Fitchburg State net when Ryan James (Katy, Tex.) tipped it in for the second goal of the game. The Falcons cut the deficit to 2-1 when Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.) burried a shot into the back of the net off assists from Ryan Murphy (Wayzata, Minn.) and Brian Glover (Baldwinville, Mass.). The scoring continued in the second period when Mitch Purdie (Peterborough, Ont.) and Manning combined to assist Tim Drevitch (Oxford, N.J.) on a shot that sailed passed the glove of McGrath.

The third period showed a strong defense from both teams. Fitchburg State capitalized on a power play when Ricky Kramer (Barnstead, N.H.) sent one between the posts of assists from Christopher Vicario (Cranston, R.I.) and Sascha Figi (Kloten, Switzerland) to cut the lead 3-2. Fitchburg State pulled McGrath in the final minute of the game when Drevitch was able to capitalize on the empty net after a pass from Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass.) grabbing an insurance goal. A few seconds later Manning sent one in between the pipes to put the game away for the Lancers off a tip from Evan Schieber (Macon, Ga.)

Lancer goalie, Aaron Callan (South Lyon, Mich.) grabbed 30 saves in the win. He moves to 8-3 for the season. McGrath totalled 33 saves despite the loss and falls to 9-5-2.                  

Next up for the Lancers, they head up to Plymouth State on Thursday night. Puck is set to drop at 6 pm. The Falcons will host UMass Dartmouth on Wednesday night.

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