Fitchburg State Nips Worcester State, 5-4 (OT)

Celli nets two goals for Falcons in MASCAC victory

WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior forward Ryan Connolly netted the game winning tally in overtime at the Fitchburg State ice hockey team defeated Worcester State University, 5-4 in overtime in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at the Hart Center on the campus of Holy Cross.

Worcester State took the lead at the 3:26 mark as senior forward Nicholas Drill collected a pass from freshman Andrew Etheridge and fired a shot into the back of the net for his second tally on the season for the 1-0 margin.

The Falcons knotted the score (1-1) midway through the frame when senior forward John Celli wristed a shot inside the far post for his team-leading fifth goal on the year as classmate Nat Rojas and junior Cameron Snyder assisted on the play.

In the second period, Fitchburg State took its first lead of the contest just 24 seconds into the stanza as Rojas blasted a shot into the right side of the net for his second goal of the year for the unassisted marker to make the score 2-1.

The Green and Gold upped its advantage with just over two minutes remaining in the period when newcomer Michael Fretz struck for his fourth tally on the 2015 season on feeds from fellow freshman Nick DiNicola and senior Max Lorenezen for the 3-1 lead going into the third period.

The visitors took a 4-1 lead in the third period at the 4:23 mark as Celli connected on the power play with his goal of the contest. Celli gathered a feed from Snyder and senior Paul Falanga and deposited the puck into the net.

The Lancers battled back as Drill connected on his second score of the game with 10:23 remaining in regulation before senior Joe White buried a shot inside the upper left corner of the net nine seconds later to make the score 4-3.

The hosts retied the game (4-4) at the 14:44 mark when freshman forward Marcus Mazur rifled a shot into the left side of the net for his first collegiate tally. Etheridge and freshman Cole Corson assisted on the play to send the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, Fitchburg State secured its fourth win on the season as Connolly netted the game winner for the Falcons 3:57 into the extra frame, firing a shot inside the near post for his fourth marker of the season, resulting in the 5-4 final.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State held a slim 29-27 advantage in shots, while the Lancers finished 0-for-4 on the power-play. In between the pipes, freshman Kirby Saari stopped 23 shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while sophomore Tyler Fallica and freshman Max Kirkwood combined to make 24 saves for Worcester State in the setback.

Fitchburg State (4-2-0, 2-1-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Thursday as it travels to Salem State for a contest starting at 7 p.m. Worcester State (2-3-1, 1-2-1 MASCAC) will visit Westfield State University on Thursday at 7:35 p.m.

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