Fitchburg State Blows Past Framingham State, 9-1

Riggs, Costigan and Hutton pace Falcons in key conference victory

FITCHBURG, Mass. (January 16, 2010) - The trio of junior Chris Riggs (Sewell, N.J./Fort Vancouver Pioneers), freshman Chris Costigan (Salem, N.H./Northern Cyclones) and senior Andrew Hutton (Brewster, Mass./Boston Harbor Wolves) paced the Fitchburg State offense with a combined ten points as the Falcons defeated Framingham State College, 9-1 in MASCAC action this evening.

Riggs led all scorers with a game-high four points on four assists, while Costigan collected three with two goals and one helper. Hutton also had a productive day on the offensive end for the Falcons, posting one score and two assists, while sophomores Thomas McAleer (East Islip, N.Y./New York Bobcats) and Kris Threlkeld (Centerville, Ohio/CD Selects) added a pair of markers.

Fitchburg State came out gunning, registering two consecutive goals in the opening 1:13  as Threlkeld and McAleer each connected for the sixth goal of the season. The two goal lead was all the Falcons needed as sophomore Bobby Leiser (Monroe, N.Y./New York Applecore) earned his sixth victory of the season with 24 saves in net, but Fitchburg State would tack plenty of insurance throughout the contest.

Freshman John Vets (Hamden, Conn./Hartford Jr. Wolfpack) padded the Fitchburg State first period lead with his team-leading eighth marker of the season at the 12:33 mark, while Costigan connected for his first goal of the game just three minutes later to wrap up the Falcons, four-goal opening period.

The second period continued the high-paced, offensive show by the Falcons as Hutton sparked Fitchburg State with his sixth goal of the season just 3:26 into the frame. Costigan followed suit at the 11:23 mark with a power-play score before Framingham State broke its scoring silence with a late goal by Eric Walsh (Haverhill, Mass./Bishop Fenwick).

Holding a 6-1 lead heading into the third period, the Fitchburg State offense was not done as the Falcons tacked on three more scores to clinch its ninth victory of the season. Freshman Justin Quinn (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) and McAleer found the back of the net early for the Falcons, while Threlkeld added a successful penalty shot attempt later in the period.

Fitchburg State took advantage of the extra man throughout the contest, converting 4-of-5 power play attempts, while holding a commanding 59-31 advantage in shots. Leiser and senior Kevin Zwier (Buffalo Grove, N.Y./Bay State Breakers) completed the goaltending duties for the Falcons with 30 stops, while senior Andy Joyce (Milford, Mass./Marlboro) made 34 saves for the Rams.

Fitchburg State (9-3-1, 5-2-0 MASCAC) will hit the ice again on Thursday as it travels to Salem State College at 7 p.m. Framingham State (1-11-1, 1-7-0 MASCAC) will host Worcester State College on Thursday at 7:20 p.m.

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Fitchburg State 9, Framingham State 1

Scoring
First Period: FIT: Kris Threlkeld (Chris Riggs), 0:37; FIT: Thomas McAleer (Billy Pescosolido, Chris Costigan), 1:13; FIT: John Vets (Chris Brecken, Justin Quinn), 12:33; FIT: Costigan (Andrew Hutton, Riggs), 15:16;
Second Period: FIT: Hutton (Tucker Callen), 3:26; FIT: Costigan (Hutton, Riggs), 11:23; FRA: Eric Walsh (Jeremy Schmidt, John Sheehan), 17:37;
Third Period: FIT: Quinn (McAleer, John Soroka), 2:07; FIT: McAleer (Riggs, Eric Trahan), 9:29; FIT: Kris Threlkeld (PS), 13:31
Goaltending: FIT: Bobby Leiser (48:19), 24 saves; Kevin Zwier (11:41), six saves; FRA: Cameron Gould (20:00), 16 saves; Andy Joyce (40:00), 34 saves;
Shots: FIT: 59; FRA: 31