Fitchburg, Mass. –The Fitchburg State ice hockey team erased a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Owls of Westfield State 5-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Thursday evening at Wallace Civic Center.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 5, Westfield State 2
Records: Fitchburg State (4-2-2, 2-1-2 MASCAC) | Westfield State (3-4-1, 1-3 MASCAC)

How It Happened

The Owls raced to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period. Junior Cory Morris (Kahnawake, Quebec) collected a rebound in front of the Falcons' net and deposited the puck top shelf for his first of the season.  Westfield doubled the advantage just four minutes later when Kasper Korhonen (Helsinki, Finland) found senior Mathieu Jones (Gatineau, Quebec) open on the weak side for the score.

The Falcons battled back with a power-play tally from senior Wyatt Wilmshurst (Massena, NY) at the 13:47 mark. Sophomore Christian Halbig (Queenstown, MD) knotted the score just two minutes later with his second goal of the season.

Fitchburg State took their first lead of the game in the second period. Sophomore Michael Macchioni (North Kingstown, RI) threaded a pass from the blue line to classmate Toivo Kramer (New York, Mass.) for a backhander past the Owls goaltender for the 3-2 advantage. Michael Macchioni extended the Falcons' lead (4-2) with a power play tally at 14:55.

Senior Hunter Fortin (Westerville, Ohio) added an empty-net goal for the Falcons in the third period resulting in the 5-2 final.

Inside the Numbers

• • Fitchburg State held the advantage in shots (40-27), and converted 2-for-4 on the power-play
  • The Owls were 0-for-4 with the man-advantage
  • Max Macchioni (North Kingstown, RI) posted 25 saves in the victory, while his counterpart   Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) stopped 35 shots in the setback.

Up Next

Fitchburg State will head to Worcester State on Saturday for a MASCAC tilt with the Lancers starting at 5:00 PM.