Worcester, MA - On Saturday evening at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center, the Worcester State Lancers took on their MASCAC neighbors the Fitchburg State Falcons. The Lancers were coming off of a MASCAC win against Salem last Thursday, but a tough second period sent Worcester home with a loss.
For the first two minutes of the game there were no shots from either team as each worked to find their groove on the ice. As the period wore on Fitchburg had some strong breakaways but the Lancer defense stopped them before they could make anything of it. Forward Toivo Kramer (New York, NY) got a shot off deep that was saved by Lancer goalie sophomore Jakub Kubik (Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic). Kubik had a strong performance fending off 14 shots from the Falcons, while Worcester trailed in shots by 6. As the period came to a close the score remained at a tie.
During the second period the Falcons dominated possession and kept Worcester's defense on their toes. Sophomore Lancer Brigham Neuhold (Edmond, OK) shot close to the post but it was narrowly saved. Falcon Nolan Sargent (Littleton, CO) sent the puck across the ice to senior Rece Bergeman (Newark, Delaware) who made it around one defender to send it into the back of the net in the 9th minute. Coming off of a power play the Falcons were able to connect from player to player and two minutes later freshman Jeremy Maillet (Leominster, MA) had a wrap-around shot to score the second goal of the night. With just 1:38 left in the period Fitchburg's Hunter Fortin (Westerville, OH) scored the third goal for the Falcons to finish the period.
The Lancers increased their possession in the third period. In the ninth minute Lancer senior Brendan Ronan (Saugus, MA), who came off a dominant Thursday night performance, scored with an assist by sophomore Shane Prifrel (Inver Grove Heights MN) and junior Deiter Stange (Niles, IL) for the first Worcester State goal of the game. Lancers stayed in the Falcons zone until the 15th minute when Fortin scored his second goal of the night assisted by Wyatt Wilmshurst and Anthony Ceolin. During the last power play Worcester opted to go without a goalie so they could have an extra man on the ice, but a puck sent from the opposite end of the ice by defensemen Antoine Gignac found an open Lancer net for Fitchburg's fifth and final goal. The Lancers lost a tough battle 5-1.
Worcester State will next play division one Stonehill College away on Tuesday, December 6th at 7 pm.