Falcons Sail Past Vikings, 3-2
Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men’s ice hockey team posted a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Vikings of Salem State University for their 14th win of the season, in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Thursday evening at Wallace Civic Center.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Team Stats
Salem St.
| Game Statistics | Salem St. | Fitchburg St. |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 0 for 3 | 1 for 4 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 6 (12) | 4 (8) |
| Shots on Goal | 42 | 35 |
| Face Offs Won | 34 | 25 |
Score three goals in third period for comeback
Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's ice hockey team posted a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Vikings of Salem State University for their 14th win of the season, in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Thursday evening at Wallace Civic Center.
The Basics
Score: Fitchburg State University 3, Salem State University 2
Records: Fitchburg State (14-6-3, 9-4-3 MASCAC) | Salem State (8-11-5, 5-9-3 MASCAC)
How It Happened
Salem State struck for the only goal in the first period. After coincidental penalties and the teams skating 4-on-4, senior Derek Makimma (Swartz Creek, Mich) found classmate Michael Casale (Stone Creek, Ont) for his 12th goal of the season.
The Vikings doubled the lead (2-0) in the second period as Casale netted an unassisted marker with 1:09 to play in the frame.
Working on the power-play to open the third period, the Green and Gold solved the Vikings netminder when junior Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.) threaded a pass from the left circle into the slot as James Gordon (Hingham, Mass.) deposited the one-timer into the twine to cut the deficit in half (2-1) just 73 seconds into the third stanza.
Fitchburg State University drew even at 10:08, when freshman Spencer Segui (North Haven, Conn.), skating in from the blue line, collected a deep rebound and fired a shot top-shelf for his second of the season. Freshman Sascha Figi (Kloten, Switzerland) and DiNicola added assists on the goal.
The hosts completed the comeback with 5:37 remaining when Figi skating in alone, finished off a pass from DiNicola and beat Viking goalie Jason Pucciarelli (Newmarket, Ont) to make it 3-2.
Inside the Numbers
Kirby Saari (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) made 40 saves for his sixth win of the season for the Falcons. His counterpart Pucciarelli made 32 saves in a losing effort.
DiNicola finished with a game-high three assists.
50th meeting between the two schools in ice hockey with the Falcons 9-35-6 all-time when taking on the Vikings.
Fitchburg State and Salem State have split the last three meeting (1-1-1). With the two teams skating to a 0-0 overtime draw in the last matchup (1/20/18) at the Rockett Ice Arena.
Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Westfield for a 5:35 pm tilt. The Vikings host Framingham State University on Saturday at 7:00 pm.