Halbig nets game winner for Green & Gold

Salem, Mass. The Fitchburg State ice hockey team earned a thrilling 4-3, triple overtime victory over the third seeded Vikings of Salem State in semifinal round action of the 2024-25 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Post-Season tournament this evening from the Rockett Ice Arena.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 4, Salem State 3

Records: Fitchburg State (14-11-1, 8-8-1 MASCAC) I Salem State (19-7-0, 14-4-0 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State opened the scoring 5:54 into the opening period as senior Toivo Kramer (New York, NY) settled a feed from classmate Christian Halbig (Queenstown, MD) and sophomore Alexandre Bauvais (Mendon, France) and deposited a shot into the right side of net for his fourth marker on the season for the 1-0 edge.

In the middle frame, Salem State knotted the score (1-1) at the 3:29 mark when freshman Jon Waselko (Powell, OH) connected on his fourth score of the 2024-25 campaign with an assist from sophomore Carson Whitman (Boston, MA).

The Falcons quickly regained the lead two minutes later with sophomore Matteo Orme Lynch (Courbevoie, France) collecting a loose puck into front of the net and putting a shot into the left side of the net for his fifth marker on the season to make the score 2-1.

The Vikings retied the contest (2-2) with five minutes remaining in the frame as senior Rais Fracis (Nottingham, UK) found the back of the net for his fifth tally on the year.

In the third period of play, the hosts grabbed the advantage at the 8:32 mark with Francis finding the back of the net for his second marker of the contest for the 3-2 edge. The Green and Gold tied the contest at 3-3 thirty seconds later when Bauvais received a pass from Halbig and tucked a shot into the lower left corner for his fourth goal on the year.

Following a scoreless two overtime periods, Fitchburg State secured the victory midway through the third overtime period when Halbig settled a loose puck and blasted a shot into the back of the net for his second tally of the 2024-25 campaign, resulting in the 4-3 final

By the Numbers

• 71st meeting between the Falcons and the Vikings on the ice with Fitchburg State 23-41-7 all-time when taking on Salem State
• Fitchburg State went 0-for-1 with the man advantage
• Salem State held a 79-62 advantage in shots
• Sophomore Max Macchioni (North Kingstown, RI) stopped 76 shots for the Falcons
• Sophomore Will Nepveu (Montreal, Que) made 58 saves for the Vikings

Up Next

Falcons return to action next Saturday as the travel take on the winner of the Anna Maria/MCLA contest for the 2024-25 MASCAC Post-Season Championship.

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