Coming on the heels of a triple overtime thriller, the Fitchburg State Falcons men’s hockey team will host the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Trailblazers in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference finals at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 8, in the Wallace Civic Center at 1000 John Fitch Highway. The Falcons (14-12-1, 8-9-1 MASCAC) entered the playoffs as a fourth seed, and will take on the eighth-seeded Trailblazers in the finals. The Falcons punched their ticket to the championship last Saturday when they bested the Salem State Vikings in triple overtime during a game where junior goaltender Max Macchioni saved a team single game record 76 shots. “I cannot wait to cheer on our Fitchburg State Falcons this Saturday as they fight for the championship,” said University President Dr. Donna Hodge. “This team has shown unmatched determination, grit, and heart all season long, and now they have the chance to bring home the title in front of their entire Falcon community. This game is about more than just hockey—it’s about Fitchburg State pride, passion, and excellence on full display. I look forward to standing alongside our students, alumni, faculty, librarians, staff, and the greater community as we come together to celebrate not only our team’s success but the unstoppable spirit that defines who we are as a university.” “Getting to the MASCAC championship game is a remarkable achievement for our hockey team, and a credit to a long season’s worth of hard work and commitment,” University Athletic Director Matthew Burke said. “I am so proud of our student-athletes, who embody Fitchburg State’s highest ideals, and the dedicated coaching staff for helping them realize this goal.” The Falcons are led by legendary Coach Dean Fuller, who has guided the team to more than 600 wins during his 41 seasons at the university. The team has won seven conference championships in 11 appearances under his watch, last winning the MASCAC crown in 2018. This will mark the Falcons’ second consecutive year at the finals. “We’re very happy to be hosting the MASCAC Championship this Saturday,” said Coach Fuller. “Our team leadership has been great all season long, and the men have shown determination and grit, which paid off in our three overtime win against Salem. As a group, we are focused on Saturday and looking forward to the challenge.” Fitchburg State will host a tailgate party outside the Civic Center starting at 2 p.m. Saturday, where visitors can enjoy music, eat a grilled Fitchburger, and get hyped for the contest. Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students. Admission is free for children under 12, senior citizens, and Fitchburg State students, faculty and staff with their OneCard. Tickets may also be purchased online. The game will also be shown live on Fitchburg Access Television at fatv.org. The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference provides a comprehensive program of athletics for all State Universities. The objective underlying this purpose is to create a healthy atmosphere of competition and rivalry between the Universities and their student bodies while fostering the values of cooperation, leadership, courage, self-discipline, sportsmanship, diversity and self-reliance among the participating student-athletes.

The Community Read of Sonia Purnell’s acclaimed book A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II (2020) will continue with a virtual discussion with the author at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25. The online talk is free and open to the public. In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: “She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her.” The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill’s “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and–despite her prosthetic leg–helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it. Purnell’s acclaimed book explores the full, secret life of Virginia Hall–an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance, and personal triumph over shocking adversity. A Woman of No Importance is the breathtaking story of how one woman’s fierce persistence helped win the war. The virtual talk may be joined at https://meet.google.com/nzv-uocm-iez. Readers are also invited to a brunch talk book club discussion about the book at 10 a.m. Monday, March 17 in the Lunenburg Adult Activity Center at 25 Memorial Drive. Registrants are asked to reserve space by calling the center at 978.582.4166. Fitchburg State will also host a virtual alumni book club discussion at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 19. That session may be joined at https://meet.google.com/bbd-uwzd-kgd. The Community Read is a collaboration between Fitchburg State University, local libraries, and the surrounding communities. It is our mission to promote thought-provoking discussions of literature to all audiences. This program is the product of the community, for the community. Our goal is to facilitate a place for insightful discussion, giving members of the community a chance to share their opinions and be heard. Our events offer a comfortable space to exchange views and interact with others. Keep up with events at fitchburgcommunityread.com. About Sonia Purnell Bestselling and prize-winning author Sonia Purnell is celebrated for her lively writing style and meticulous research with a growing readership across the world. Her work has been optioned by several leading film-makers, won fans from all walks of life from presidents to physicians and been translated into more than twenty languages. Readers write to her regularly on how they have drawn inspiration from her books, which have sold more than a million copies. Her first work - the unauthorized biography of Boris Johnson called Just Boris: A Tale of Blond Ambition - was long listed for the Orwell prize in 2011. As the first to challenge his track record and integrity, it changed the national debate and remains the definitive biography. Sonia has become the go-to commentator at home and abroad on his rise to power and his record in office. Her second book, First Lady in the UK and Clementine in the US, (a finalist for the Plutarch prize) revealed for the first time the vital role played in Winston Churchill's career by his wife Clementine. The book has subsequently shaped Clementine’s portrayal on screen, including in the Netflix series “The Crown” when she was played by Harriet Walter who has described Sonia’s writing as a “whirlwind of fresh air” that opens “a door…into a flood of sunlight”. Her third work, A Woman of No Importance, is the inspirational true-life tale of a female spy in WWII, Virginia Hall, a young American socialite with a wooden leg, who helped fan the flames of French Resistance. It became an instant New York Times Bestseller when published in 2019, remained on the list for many weeks, and won the prestigious Plutarch Prize for Best Biography in 2020. Her latest book Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman’s Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction & Intrigue came out in September 2024 to huge critical and reader acclaim. It has been hailed as a Book of the Year by no fewer than 15 media outlets from the Guardian to the Economist via the New Yorker. Kingmaker is hailed as an electrifying re-examination of one of the 20th century’s greatest unsung power players as well as an eye-popping tale of sex, money, politics and fabulous clothes. Previously written off as a courtesan and social climber, Pamela Harriman’s true legacy has been overshadowed by her infamous erotic adventures. Much of what she did behind the scenes to change the world has remained invisible and secret. That is, until now.