Ice Hockey Soars Past Raiders In Conference Tilt

Dunn nets hattrick for Green & Gold

Fitchburg, Mass. –The Fitchburg State men's ice hockey team delivered a dominant wire-to-wire performance, led by a hat trick from Hunter Dunn, as the Falcons jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a decisive 7-1 win over Rivier on Saturday night. The Falcons are riding a six-game win streak.

Saturday celebrated Hockey Night in the 'Burg. Jake Thibeault was honored with a pre-game ceremonial puck drop.  Jake suffered a catastrophic injury on the ice on September 4, 2021, and faced immense challenges early in his recovery, including relearning basic strength and mobility at Spaulding Rehabilitation. All donations from the games are benefiting the Thibeault Family Rehabilitation Trust. 

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 7, Rivier 1 

Records: Fitchburg State (14-5, 7-1 MASCAC), Rivier (2-16-1, 2-6 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State struck early and never let up in the opening period, building a 3–0 lead through the first 20 minutes of play. Hunter Dunn opened the scoring just 2:49 into the contest, finishing a setup from Devin Niles and Andrey Bondarev. Dunn doubled the Falcons' advantage moments later at 2:56, converting again off feeds from Niles and Tye Battipaglia to make it 2–0.

The Falcons continued to control play at both ends, and Nicklas Millhorn capped the scoring at the 10:28 mark, burying a chance in front with assists from Christian Halbig and John Mantone. Fitchburg State maintained pressure the rest of the period while Frederick Soderberg stood tall in net, turning aside eight shots in the frame.

In the second period, the Falcons added a goal from Battipaglia at 4:21, assisted by Devin Niles and Trenton Skaggs, before putting the game away in the third. Battipaglia notched his second of the game with an unassisted tally at the 4:10 mark of the final frame.

Hunter Dunn completed the hat-trick with a power-play goal at 7:01, with Niles adding his third assist of the night.  Halbig extended the lead to 7-0, converting a pass from Dunn to finish the scoring for the hosts. Rivier scored a late goal to break-up the shutout.

Inside the Numbers

• Fitchburg State held a 45-26 advantage in shots
• Frederick Soderberg stopped 22 shots for the Falcons in 55 minutes of action.

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Thursday, when they host Framingham State at 6:30 PM.

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