Box Score (Box
Score)
WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. - Fitchburg State College got
goals from six different players Thursday evening at Waterville
Valley Arena en route to defeating Plymouth State University, 6-4,
to clinch the first men's ice hockey regular season championship of
the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC).
The Falcons
scored four unanswered goals to start the second period, turning a
1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead. It was a 5-2 Fitchburg advantage
a minute into the third period, but the Panthers fought back with a
pair of goals to make it a one-goal game (5-4) with 10 minutes to
play. Both teams had scoring opportunities until the final minute
when Fitchburg scored an empty-net goal to seal the win.
Fitchburg State
won for the 13th time in its last 14 games, improving to
18-4-1 overall and 14-3-0 in the MASCAC to clinch first
place. Plymouth State had a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1)
stopped and fell to 15-8-1 overall and 11-5-1 in conference play,
remaining in third place.
Junior goalie
Robert Vorse (Leominster, Mass.) recorded the victory in goal for
the visitors, making 29 saves.
After freshman
Alex Cottle (West Chester, Pa.) knocked in a
rebound to give Plymouth State a 1-0 first-period lead, Fitchburg
exploded with four goals in the first 10 minutes of the second
period. Freshmen Chris Costigan (Salem, N.H.) and Justin
Quinn (Braintree, Mass.) tallied even-strength goals at 3:44 and
5:10, respectively, and junior Bill Pescosolido (Framingham, Mass.)
and sophomore Kevin McCready (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) followed with
power play goals at 6:54 and 10:25. Sophomore Chris
Zaremba (Colorado Springs, Colo.) stopped the bleeding for
Plymouth State at 11:44 of the period and it stayed a two-goal
game, 4-2, for the rest of the period.
Fitchburg got
the early momentum a minute into the third period when sophomore
Thomas McAleer (East Islip, N.Y.) scored a power-play goal, but
Plymouth State did not quit. Junior Sean
Buckley (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) tallied a power play goal
at 6:58 and freshman Richie Zobak (Evergreen Park,
Ill.) pulled PSU to within one, 5-4, with 10:36 on the clock.
But that's as close as the Panthers would get.
It was Senior
Night at the game as PSU paid tribute to its two seniors
(right), and they delivered on the ice. Forward
Chris Chambers (Crofton, Md.) finished the game
with three assists, and goaltender Aaron Runner
(Alpharetta, Ga.) stopped all five shots he faced in the third
period to keep the Panthers in the game.
Both teams wrap
up the regular s season Saturday evening with conference games,
Fitchburg State visiting UMass Dartmouth (4:30 p.m.) and Plymouth
State traveling to Westfield State (5:35 p.m.)
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