Fitchburg State Draws With Salem State, 2-2 (OT)

Lawler and Loebs connect for Falcons in second MASCAC tie of the season

SALEM, Mass. (February 4, 2012) – The Fitchburg State ice hockey team battled to a 2-2 MASCAC draw this afternoon as the Falcons traveled to Salem State University's Rockett Arena today.

After trailing 2-0 through the first two period of play, Fitchburg State broke its scoring drought in the third frame touching for a pair of goals to force a five minute overtime period. Freshman Sean Loebs (Creeskill, N.J./Connecticut Jr. Wolfpack) put the Falcons on the board just 2:03 into the period, netting his third goal of the season off assists from Curtis Nikitas (Leominster, Mass./Saint Bernards) and Carlo DePiazza (Ridgewood, N.J./Connecticut Jr. Wolfpack).

Junior Trevor Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass./New England Jr. Huskies) knotted the score at the 16:05 mark, posting his team-leading ninth goal of the season with a helper from Joseph Caveney (Fitchburg, Mass./UMass Lowell).

Both teams remained silent throughout the five minute overtime period with Salem State holding a 7-5 advantage in overtime targets. The Vikings out-shot the Falcons 40-33 in the game, including 12-6 in their two goal, first period explosion. Sophomore Eric Defelice (Chalfont, Pa./Manhattanville) and senior Matt Genovese (Hingham, Mass./Berkshire Academy) gave Salem State the two goal cushion, connecting for back-to-back goals over a seven minute span midway through the period.

For the contest, both goaltenders were strong, turning in a pair of complete game efforts. Senior Bobby Leiser (Monroe, N.Y./New York Applecore) stopped a game-high 38 shots for the Falcons, while sophomore Ryan Sutliffe (Grand Forks, N.D./Helena Big Horns) posted 31 saves for the Vikings.

Fitchburg State (7-9-3, 6-5-2 MASCAC) will be in action again on Thursday as it hosts Worcester State at 7 p.m. Salem State (11-6-3, 8-2-3 MASCAC) will visit UMass Dartmouth next Thursday at 7:30 p.m.