Falcons Extend Past Owls, 10-4

Figi and Germain net two goals each in key MASCAC victory  

Westfield, Mass. – Freshman Sascha Figi (Kloten, Switzerland) and junior Patrick Germain (Auburn, Mass.) registered two goals each to propel the Fitchburg State ice hockey team to a 10-4 win over the Owls of Westfield State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at the Almelia Ice Park Arena.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 10, Westfield State 4
Records: Fitchburg State (15-6-3, 10-4-3 MASCAC)| Westfield State (10-12-1, 8-9-0 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State opened the scoring just 2:34 into the first period as freshman Kevin Perry (Hull, Mass.) gathered a feed from sophomore Kyle Hillick (Byfield, Mass.) and junior Brandon Ecklund (Fitchburg, Mass.) and deposited the puck into the net for his fifth tally on the year for the 1-0 lead.

Westfield State knotted the score (1-1) with just over four minutes left in the frame when junior Daniel Backstrom (Helsinki, Finland) connected on his sixth goal of the season before the Falcons regained the lead minutes later on a marker from junior Connor McPherson (Clovis, Calif.) to make the score 2-1.

In the second stanza, Fitchburg State upped its margin (3-1) at the 6:10 mark as junior Ricky Kramer (Barnstead, N.H.) buried a shot into the net for his eighth goal of the 2017-18 campaign. The Green and Gold would tack on two more goals in the span of 1:55 with senior Evan Byrnes (New City, N.Y.) and classmate James Gordon (Hingham, Mass.) finding the back of the net for the visitors for the 5-1 edge after 40 minutes of play.

In the final period of play, the Falcons scored five more time as Figi and Germain netted two goals each, while junior Christopher Vicario (Cranston, R.I.) added on score, resulting in the 10-4 victory.

Inside the Numbers

31st meeting between the two schools in ice hockey with the Falcons 18-11-2 all-time when taking on the Owls.

Two teams had split the last 12 matchups with each other (6-6-0) with the Fitchburg State coming away with a 9-3 victory in the last meeting (1/25/18) at the Wallace Civic Center.

Falcons finished with a 52-43 advantage in shots.

Fitchburg State finished 2-for-5 on the power-play, while Westfield State went 1-for-3 with the man advantage.

Freshman Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) and junior Quinn Wold (Aurora, Colo.) combined to stop 39 shots for the Falcons

Sophomore Kameron Limburg (Howell, Mich.) made 37 saves in 49:26 minutes of action for the Owls.

Up Next

Falcons will host the Lancers of Worcester State University on Tuesday for a MASCAC clash at 7:00 P.M. Owls will visit Plymouth State on the same day for a conference bout, starting at 6:00 P.M.