Lancers Skate to 3-3 Draw with Falcons

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Worcester State ice hockey team skated to a 3-3 overtime draw with the Falcons of Fitchburg State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from the Wallace Civic Center on Saturday  night. 

Worcester State is now 10-12-2 in the season and 7-8-2 in MASCAC, while Fitchburg State moves to 17-5-1 (14-3-1 MASCAC).

Worcester State opened the scoring midway through the first period as sophomore Jack Kroll (Plainfield, Ill.) collected a feed from senior Will Ahern (Charlestown, Mass.) and junior Brendan Ronan (Saugus, Mass.) and found the back of the net for his second goal on the season for the 1-0 lead.

Fitchburg State knotted the score at 1-1 two minutes later when senior Adam Kusior (Tecumseh, Ont.) blasted a shot into the upper right corner for his second tally of the year with assists from sophomore Cole Archambeault (Leominster, Mass.) and freshman Oliver Cookson (Sheffield, Mass.).

In the middle frame, the Falcons took the lead just 1:21 into the stanza with junior Rece Bergeman (Newark, Del.) settling a rebound off the stick of freshman Michael Macchioni (North Kingstown, R.I.) and flipped a shot over the left shoulder of Lancer keeper Wyatt Friedlander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) for his eighth marker of the 2021-22 campgaign to make the socre 2-1.

The Lancers retied the contest (2-2) at the 12:12 mark when junior Kevin Drevitch (Oxford, N.J.) deposited a shot into the right side of the net for his fourth score on the year as freshman Max Tucker (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and classmate Max Moriarty (East Longmeadow, Mass.) assisted on the play.

Worcester State regained the lead at the 16:27 mark with senior Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass.) receiving a pass from senior Max Roth (Chicago, Ill.) and Ronan and struck for his seventh tally on the season for the 3-2 edge.

In the final period of play, the Green and Gold tied the contest at 3-3 when freshman Toivo Kramer (New York, N.Y.) blasted a shot into the left side of the net for his seventh goal of the year with assists from classmate Thomas Harty (Billerica, Mass.) and Bergeman.

In the overtime period, Worcester State's best scoring opportunity was when Roth put a shot on frame that Falcon netmider Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) turned aside, while junior Gene Bouthiette (Enfield, Conn.) had the Falcons best scoring chance, but Friedlander was able to deny that shot, resulting in the 3-3, overtime draw.

McGrath stopped 28 shots for the Falcons, and Friedlander made 31 saves for the Lancers.

The Falcons conclude their 2022 regular season this afternoon and await its seeding into the upcoming 2021-22 MASCAC Ice Hockey Post-Season Tournament. The Lancers will host the Rams of Framingham State on Monday for a MASCAC tilt, starting at 3:50 PM.