Falcons Nipped By Greyhounds, 3-2

Mattone stops 31 shots for Fitchburg State in non-conference setback

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team dropped a tough 3-2 decision to the Greyhounds of Assumption College this evening in non-conference action from the Wallace Civic Center.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Assumption 3
Records: Fitchburg State (4-2-1) | Assumption (3-3-1)

How It Happened

Following a scoreless first period, Assumption found the back of the net at the 5:20 mark as sophomore forward Rovert Holyoke (Middleboro, Mass.) collected a feed from classmate Dante Manbito (Georgetown, Mass.), who connected on this second tally on the season for the 1-0 margin.

Fitchburg State knotted the score (1-1) 12 minutes into the frame when senior Dean Zerby (Harrisburg, Penn.) netted his second goal of the year off assists from freshman Anthony Ceolin (Simsbury, Conn.) and sophomore  Mitch El-Wailli (New Prague, Minn.).

The Greyhounds regained the lead at the 16:02 mark with sophomore John Pigott (Arlington, Mass.) notching his second marker of the season for the 2-1 edge before Assumption upped its margin (3-1) minutes later as freshman Sean O'Connell (Stoneham, Mass.) finding the back of the net for his first collegiate goal.

In the third period, the Green and Gold cut the deficit to 3-2 with 1:32 remaining in the contest when freshman Hunter Fortin (Westerville, Ohio) receiving a feed from sophomore Ryan Murphy (Wayzata, Minn.) and senior Christopher Vicario (Cranston, R.I.) and deposited a shot inside the far post for his second score of the 2019-20 campaign, but Assumption goaltender David Altman (Bristol, R.I.) would stand tall over the final minute and half as the Greyhounds held on for the 3-2 victory.

By the Numbers

• El-Wailli collected his first collegiate point for the Falcons
• 39th meeting between the two squads with the Falcons 28-10-1 all-time vs the Greyhounds
• Fitchburg State finished with a 44-34 margin in shots
• Assumption went 0-for-2 with the man advantage
• Sophomore Christopher Mattone (New Windsor, N.Y.) stopped 31 shots for the Falcons
• Altman made 42 saves for the Greyhounds

Up Next

Falcons are off until Thursday, December 5th when they host the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth for a MASCAC matchup, starting at 7:00 PM. Greyhounds will travel to Saint Anselm on Friday for an NE-10 matchup at 7:00 PM.