Owls Lose Lead Late, Fall at Fitchburg, 5-4

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year Emile Pichette (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) scored twice, but Fitchburg State scored three goals over the final ten minutes of regulation time to defeat the Owls, 5-4 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game on Thursday evening.

The Owls now own a 9-9-1 record in the conference and a 12-10-1 overall mark. The Falcons improve to 13-9-2 on the season and 12-6-2 in the MASCAC.

Westfield managed to race out to a three-goal lead in the second period after a scoreless first period between both sides, only to see the Falcons chip away at the lead and, eventually, take control of the game late.

On a man-advantage opportunity, good puck movement within the offensive end allowed the Owls to generate the game's first goal. Dawson Garcia (Oakville, Ontario) dropped the puck back to Daniel Finegan (Chicago, Ill.) where he wristed a shot on net that was saved with the rebound finding the stick of Cooper Board (Salem, Mass.) who deposited his fifth of the season just two minutes into the period.

The Owls doubled the lead 9:30 into the second frame, with Raphael Seguin (Saint-Lazare, Quebec) skating with the puck out of the defensive third of the ice and, while falling to the ice, was able to direct a pass to Julian Boisclair (Voorhees, N.J.) who entered the zone and ripped a shot over the glove of Frederick Soderberg (Harrison Township, Mich.) for the 2-0 lead.

Just over a minute and a half later, Pichette found his first of the night, placing a shot into the left side of the net to extend the lead to three goals. However, the Falcons managed to cut the Owls lead to just one goal heading into the intermission, getting markers from Antoine Gignac (Quebec City, Quebec) and Andrew Woloszyn (Windham, N.H.) within the final five minutes of the second.

Pichette potted his 11^th goal of the season to bump the Owls lead back to two goals with just over 11 minutes to play in regulation, tipping a centering pass from Christopher Miraldo (Montreal, Quebec) past Soderberg.

Momentum swung in the Falcons favor for the remainder of the game, including a quick answer just two minutes after the Pichette tally from Michael Macchioni (North Kingstown, R.I.), making it a one-goal game again with 9:19 left in the game.

With under five minutes to play, Fitchburg knotted the game at four goals apiece, as Toivo Kramer (New York, N.Y.) connected with Alexandre Bauvais (Meudon, France) for the equalizer. Just over a minute later, Fitchburg took their first lead of the game as Jackson Collins (Wake Forest, N.C.) ripped a shot to the left side of the cage, securing the victory for the Falcons.

The Falcons held a two-shot advantage over the Owls, outshooting them 32-30. Kevin Chandler (Hanover, Mass.) took the loss for Westfield, registering 27 saves. Soderberg stopped 26 shots on net to win his seventh contest of the season.

Westfield State will host one final regular season contest as the Owls face UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 5:35 P.M. from Amelia Park in Westfield, Mass. before entering the MASCAC Tournament the following week.