Fitchburg State Hands Ice Hockey First MASCAC Setback

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Framingham State University ice hockey team suffered a 5-2 setback to host Fitchburg State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Saturday evening at the Wallace Civic Center.

Fitchburg State grabbed the lead at the 5:54 mark as sophomore John Celli (Leominster, Mass.) fired a shot into the back of the net for his fifth score of season off feeds from freshman Jake Martin (Montreal, Que.) and sophomore Ryan Connolly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) for the 1-0 margin.

Framingham State knotted the score (1-1) about three minutes later when junior Dylan Cosford (Windsor, Ont.) collected his second marker of the season, using assists from classmates Ryan McDonald (Anchorage, Alaska) and Brendon McCarron (Wakefield, Mass.).

The Falcons regained the lead with three and half minutes remaining in the first period as freshman Connor Bowman (Kansas City, Mo.) one timed a shot inside the far post for his first collegiate tally and the 2-1 advantage. Sophomores Ryan Bedard (Derby Line, Vt.) and Timmy Genova (Smithtown, N.Y) assisted on the play.

In the second frame, the Green and Gold upped their lead just 1:09 into the stanza when Connolly struck for his team-leading seventh score of the year as he collected a loose puck in front of the net off a rebound from classmate Max Lorenzen (Leesburg, Va.) to make the score 3-1.

The hosts took a three goal lead at the 5:26 mark as junior Sean Loebs (Cresskill, N.J.) connected on the power play. Loebs slipped the puck inside the near post for the 4-1 margin on a pair of feeds from classmate Brett Nussbaum (Boca Raton, Fla.) and senior Derek Giansanti (Newington, Conn.).

The Rams answered back midway through the period when Cosford fired a shot from the left point into the back of the net for his second goal of the contest on feeds from sophomores Melvin Nichols (Alexandria, Va.) and Rich Hill (Tampa Bay, Fla.) to cut the deficit to 4-2 going into the final period of play.

In the final stanza, the Falcons secured the victory at the 12:10 mark as Loebs registered his second goal of the contest as he fired a shot into the lower right corner of the net, using assists from freshmen Jon Johannesson (Red Lake, Ont.) and Cameron Snyder (Shawnee, Kan.), resulting in the 5-2 final.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State held a 42-29 margin in shots, while the Rams registered seven power play opportunities. Between the pipes, junior Ryan Wysocki (Grand Rapids, Mich.) totaled 27 saves for the Falcons en-route to his first collegiate victory, while senior Nick Cafrelli (San Jose, Calif.) posted 37 stops for Framingham State in the setback.

Framingham State (3-2-1, 3-1-1 MASCAC) will host New England College on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Fitchburg State (4-4-0, 2-2-0 MASCAC) will be in action on Saturday as it visits Skidmore College in opening round action of the 2013 Skidmore College Tournament starting at 2 p.m.