Fitchburg State Upended By UMass Dartmouth, 7-2

Snyder and Warila net one goal each for the Falcons in MASCAC setback 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team dropped a 7-2 decision to the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at Hetland Arena.

UMass Dartmouth opened the scoring at the 9:09 mark as freshman forward Jeff Kirkwood collected a feed from junior Brandon Berkley and wristed a shot into the back of the net for his fifth tally on the season for the 1-0 lead after one period of play.

The Corsairs doubled their margin (2-0) 2:21 into the second frame when Kirkwood struck for his sixth goal of the year off assists from Berkley and sophomore Brendan McDonough. The Falcons broke its scoring silence three minutes later as senior forward Cameron Snyder buried a shot inside the near post for his ninth marker of the 2016-17 campaign as sophomore Nick DiNicola assisted on the play.

Following a goal by sophomore Hunter Wilhoite to give UMass Dartmouth a 4-1 advantage, the Green and Gold answered back midway through the stanza as newcomer Tyler Warila blasted a shot into the right side of the net to cut the lead to 4-2.

In the final period of play, the Corsairs added to its lead (6-2) just 57 seconds into the frame when junior forward Casey Shea settled a pass from seniors Mike Kelly and Matt Baldino and fired a shot into the net for his team-leading 12th tally of the year, resulting in the 7-2 final.

Throughout the contest, UMass Dartmouth held a 52-47 advantage in shots, while Fitchburg State finished 1-for-8 on the power play. In between the pipes, sophomores Kirby Saari and Quinn Wold combined to stop 45 shots for the Falcons, while junior Drew Michals made 45 saves for the Corsairs in the complete game effort.

Fitchburg State (10-14-1, 7-10-1 MASCAC) concludes it 2016-17 regular season this evening and awaits its seeding into the upcoming MASCAC Ice Hockey post-season tournament, while UMass Dartmouth (16-8-0, 11-6-0) will travel to Framingham State on Tuesday for a contest starting at 7:30 p.m.