Ice Hockey Rallies from Three Goal Deficit in Final 2:30 for 5-4 Win Over Fitchburg State

Fitchburg, Mass. –  Framingham State registered three, third period goals in just 2:30 seconds including the winning tally with just 29 second remaining to edge the Fitchburg State University ice hockey team 5-4 in MASCAC action this evening.

Sophomore Ben Pacific's (Marlborough, Mass.) marker with just 29 seconds remaining in the contest proved to be the game-winner as Framingham State improves to 3-12-1 on the season (3-10-1 MASCAC). With the loss, Fitchburg State falls to 13-6-1 overall and 7-5-1 in the conference.

After a slow first period, Framingham State opened the scoring early in the second stanza, using a goal from freshman Eric Ward (Haverhill, Mass.). Ward gave the Rams the 1-0 advantage, posting his eighth goal of the season after a flurry of shots were turned away by Falcon goaltender Bobby Leiser (Monroe, N.Y.). 

Fitchburg State quickly evened the score just 1:33 later with a wrist shot from senior Chris Riggs (Sewell, N.J.) for his eighth score of the season, before junior Kris Threlkeld (Centerville, Ohio) gave the Falcons a one goal advantage at the 7:37 mark with feeds from Riggs and senior Kevin McCready (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).

In the third period, Framingham State responded immediately, knotting the score at 2-2 with a marker from junior Jon Vaillancourt (La Valle, Wis.) off assists from Corey Chaney (Oxford, MI) and Nate Strah (Loveland, CO), but Fitchburg State answered the call again, connecting with back-to-back markers for a 4-2 margin. Threlkeld sparked the Falcon rally with his second score of the contest, before sophomore Brett Provost (Ludlow, Mass.) sent a bouncing shot past Ram net-minder Terrence Sullivan (Shirley, Mass.) from the blue line.

Holding a two goal lead with just under three minutes to go, Fitchburg State seemingly had its eighth conference victory in hand before the Framingham State offense took over. The Rams swung the momentum in their favor with two quick goals from freshman Daniel Miressi (Monroe, Conn.) just 1:06 apart.  The Rams then used Pacific's game-winning tally off a Matt Margolis (Raleigh, NC) assist at the 19:31 mark to seal the victory.

Miressi finished the game with three points on two goals and an assist, while Pacific and Ward each finished with a goal and a helper.

Both offenses battled strong with Framingham State holding a slim 36-35 shot margin. Leiser finished with 31 saves in just his third loss of the season for the Falcons, while Sullivan collected 31 stops for the Rams.

Fitchburg State (13-6-1, 7-5-1 MASCAC) will hit the ice again on Saturday as it travels to Salem State University at 2 p.m. Framingham State (3-14-1, 3-10-1 MASCAC) will host Worcester State University on Saturday at 3:15 p.m.

Release courtesy of FSU Sports Information.