Falcons Blank Pilgrims in Season Opener

Fitchburg, Mass. –The Fitchburg State hockey team opened the 2022 season with a 3-0 victory over the Pilgrims of New England College on Friday evening at the Wallace Civic Center.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 3, New England College 0
Records: Fitchburg State (1-0) |New England College (0-1)

How It Happened

After both teams battled to a scoreless first period, the Falcons took the lead in the second frame. Off a faceoff in the neutral zone, junior Cole Archambeault (Leominster, Mass.) tipped the puck through the Pilgrims' defense and deposited the first goal of the season inside the left post.

Rookie Max Macchioni (North Kingstown, RI) kept the Pilgrims off the board early in the third period, stoning freshman Kam Hellman (Macomb, Mich.) on a one-timer during NEC's power-play.

The Green and Gold doubled the lead at 11:09 of the third period. Sophomore Christian Halbig (Queenstown, MD) kept the puck in the offensive zone with a pass to Anthony Ceolin (Simsbury, Conn.). Ceolin found Wyatt Wilmshurst (Massena, NY) open in front of the net as the senior slipped the backhander past the NEC goaltender.

Sophomore Toivo Kramer (New York, NY) added an empty net goal to seal the Falcons' win.

Inside the Numbers

                 Macchioni backboned the Falcons, making 27 saves, for his first collegiate win and shutout

                Andrew Kormos (Milford, Mich.) posted 44 saves for NEC in the setback

                The Falcons had the edge in shots (50-27).

                NEC was 0-for-5 with the man-advantage, while the Falcons were 0-for-2 on the power-play

Up Next

Fitchburg State will return to action on Thursday, November 3^rd, when they host Plymouth State at the Wallace Civic Center. Puck drop is 6:00 PM.