Six different Falcons find the back of the net

Fitchburg, Mass. The Fitchburg State ice hockey team dropped a tough 7-6 decision to the AMCATS of Anna Maria this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from the Wallace Civic Center.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 6, Anna Maria 7

Records: Fitchburg State (7-6-0, 4-3-0 MASCAC) I Anna Maria (9-5-0, 5-2-0 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Anna Maria opened the scoring 52 seconds into the first period as graduate student Guillaume Coulombre (Ste-Julie, QUE) settled a feed from sophomore Max Wennerberg (Sodertaljie, SWE) and senior Daniel Raposa (Hannon, ONT) and found the back of the net for his third tally of the season for the 1-0 edge.

The AMCATS doubled the lead 6:52 into the frame when junior Brandon Della Paolera (Osoyoos, BC) deposited a loose puck inside the near post for his fifth marker on the year with assists from Coulombre and senior Matt Byrne (Penticton, BC) for the 2-0 margin.

Fitchburg State answered midway through the opening period with senior Michael Imala (Oak Lawn, IL) gathered a pass from classmate Kristopher Zapata (Cherry Hill, NJ) and one timed a shot into the left side of the net for his third goal of the 2024-25 campaign to make the score 2-1.

The visitors pushed the lead to 4-1 as Byrne and graduate student Matt Gilbert (Wyandotte, MI) netted markers 30 seconds apart. The Falcons trimmed the lead to 4-2 with just over four minutes remaining in the staza as sophomore Elowan Orme Lynch (Courbevoie, FRA) buried a shot into the back of the net with an assist from classmate Hunter Dunn (Douglas, MA).

In the middle frame, Anna Maria extended the advantage 12:23 into the period when Gilbert collected his second marker of the contest for the 5-2 lead. The AMCATS pushed the lead to 6-2 just over two minutes left in the stanza as Byrne potted his second score on the evening, The Green and Gold responded late in the period (6-3) with senior Samuel Rennick (Salisbury, MA) collecting a pass from senior Nicklas Millhorn (Brownstown, MI) and junior Jeremy Maillet (Leominster, MA) before tucking a shot inside the lower left corner for his fourth on the season.

In the final period of play, Fitchburg State struck just 2:37 into the stanze with senior Jack Johansen (Milford, NH) converting a power play marker off assists from Millhorn and Rennick for for his fourth goal of the season to make score 6-4. The Green and Gold continued the offensive pressure when Millhorn received a feed from Rennick and Maillet and blasted a shot into the right side of the net for his sixth tally on the season to cut the lead to 6-5.

The Falcons battled back to knot the contest at 6-6 with just under three minutes remaining in regulation when Maillet buried a shot inside the left post for his third goal on the 2024-25 campaign as Rennick and junior Nolan Sargent (Littleton, CO) assisted on the play. Anna Maria secured the victory though with 37 seconds left as Gilbert competed the hat trick, tucking a shot inside the lower right corner, resulting in the 7-6 final

By the Numbers

• Sixth meeting between the Falcons and the Amcats on the ice with Fitchburg State 5-1-0 all-time when taking on Anna Maria
• Anna Maria finished with a 40-27 margin in shots
• The Falcons went 1-for-3 with the man advantage
• Sophomore Frederick Soderberg (Harrison Township, MI) stopped 20 shots for the Falcons
• Sophomore Matt Hennessey (Warman, SK) made 21 saves for the Amcats

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday as they host the Owls of Westfield State University for a MASCAC tilt, starting at 5:00PM.

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