Falcons Draw Even With Panthers, 2-2 In Overtime

Murphy and Vicario collect one goal each for Fitchburg State

Plymouth, N.H. – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team skated to a 2-2 overtime draw with the Panthers of Plymouth State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening from the Hanaway Rink.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Plymouth State 2
Records: Fitchburg State (6-5-2, 4-1-2 MASCAC) | Plymouth State (5-7-2, 5-1-1 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Plymouth State nearly grabbed the lead early in the first period as junior Peter Laviolette (Brentwood, Tenn.) put a shot on frame, but Falcons keeper Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) denied the scoring chance to preserve the 0-0 stalemate.

In the middle frame, the Panthers took the lead midway through the stanza when freshman Leo Stolpe (Stockholm, Sweden) gathered a feed from senior Drake Longaker (Gilroy, Calif.) and freshman Jacob Laurin (Stockholm, Sweden), who redirected a shot inside the near post for his sixth tally on the year for the 1-0 margin.

Fitchburg State knotted the score (1-1) at the 7:49 mark of the third period with sophomore Ryan Murphy (Wayzata, Minn.) netting his team-leading eight marker on the season off assists from junior Kevin Perry (Hull, Mass.) and senior Christopher Vicario (Cranston, R.I.).

The Panthers regained the lead with just under ten minutes left in the frame when Laviolette notched his third goal of the season, but the Falcons quickly retied the contest (2-2) one minute later as Vicario collected his second score of the 2019-20 campaign with an assist from freshman Joshua Miller (Saint Augustine, Fla.).

Neither team would be able to find back of the net in the extra frame as the contest ended in a 2-2 draw.

By the Numbers

• 64th matchup between the two teams with the Falcons 27-29-8 all-time vs. the Panthers
• Plymouth State finished with a 44-29 margin in shots
• Fitchburg State went 1-for-3 with the man advantage
• McGrath stopped 42 shots for the Falcons
• Senior Andreas Pettersson (Trolhattan, Sweden) made 27 saves for the Panthers

Up Next

Falcons will host the Hawks of Becker College on Wednesday for a non-conference tilt, starting at 7:00 PM. Panthers will travel to Framingham State on Thursday for a MASCAC matchup at 7:30 PM.