Fitchburg State Falls to Worcester State, 4-2
February 13, 2017

Fitchburg State Falls to Worcester State, 4-2

Fitchburg, Mass. – Fitchburg State University fell to the Lancers of Worcester State, 4-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on a snowy Monday night at the Wallace Civic Center.

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Ecklund and DiNicola net  goals for Falcons in MASCAC setback

Fitchburg, Mass. – Fitchburg State University fell to the Lancers of Worcester State, 4-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on a snowy Monday night at the Wallace Civic Center.

Sophomores Brandon Ecklund and Nick DiNicola paced the Falcons with a goal apiece, while Lancers' Mitchell Purdie tallied two and freshman Colin Whitt added a goal and assist.  

The first period got off to a quick start for the Worcester State Lancers as Whitt netted their first goal 5:55 into the first period, collecting his first collegiate score. The Lancers continued their scoring with a goal by Marcus Mazur five minutes later. The Falcons hammered the Lancers offensively throughout the entire first period, both in physicality and with scoring opportunities. Their work paid off with 3:49 remaining in the period as Ecklund scored off of a pass from Corey Hayashi to bring the Falcons back within one goal of the Lancers.

A strong penalty kill by Fitchburg early in the second period kept Worcester at bay. Worcester State ramped up the shots, with 11 on the power-play, almost doubling their first period total shots. The Lancers extended their lead to 3-1 with a solid shot by Mitchell Purdie from the slot at 16:29 of the second period. The stong play continued from both teams throughout the period, keeping the game up for grabs.
 

Twenty-five seconds into the third period, while still on the power-play, DiNicola put the puck into a wide open net off a perfect cross crease pass from teammate Ricky Kramer to again cut the Lancers lead back down to one. Two more Worcester penalties late in the game gave the Falcons a chance to tie the game up, but the Lancers penalty kill stayed strong. Worcester added an empty net goal with a minute left to play to cement their victory over the Falcons 4-2.

Sophomore netminder Quinn Wold posted 25 saves in the loss, his counterpart Cory Lignelli turned back 21 shots for his fourth victory of the season.

Worcester held a slight advantage in shots (29-23) and was 1-for-3 with the man advantage, while the Falcons were 1-for-4 on the power play.

Fitchburg State University (10-12-1, 7-8-1 MASCAC) will travel on Plymouth State University on Thursday, February 16 for a MASCAC match-up, puck drop is slated for 6:00 p.m. Worcester State (8-11-3, 6-8-2 MASCAC) travels tomorrow night to Assumption for a 7:30 pm tilt.
Release courtesy the Falcon Report Connor Ghiz and Chris Dunne