#3 Fitchburg State to Hosts #6 UMass Dartmouth

Falcons claim third seed in upcoming MASCAC Ice Hockey Tournament

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University ice hockey team has claimed the third seed in the 2014-2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Ice Hockey Tournament and will host the sixth seeded Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, Feb. 28th in the quarterfinals for a contest starting at 4 p.m.

Earning a first round bye were the top seeded Panthers of Plymouth State, followed by Salem State University, who earned the second seed in the tournament and await the winners of the two quarterfinal round matchups.

Fourth seed Westfield State will entertain the fifth seeded Lancers of Worcester State at 7 p.m. in the other quarterfinal contest. On Tuesday, top seeded Plymouth State will hosts the winner of the Westfield State/Worcester in a semifinal round game at 6 pm, while Salem State hosts the Fitchburg State/UMass Dartmouth winner in the other semifinal at 7 p.m.

The winner of the two semifinal round games with then compete on Saturday, Mar. 8th at the highest remaining seed for the MASCAC Ice Hockey Championship.

The Falcons closed out the regular season with an 8-8-2 mark in the MASCAC as sophomore Cameron Snyder and junior John Celli led the way offensively for Fitchburg State with 23 points each. Snyder tallied a team-leading 13 goals and ten helpers, while Celli added 12 scores and 11 assists for the Green and Gold. In net, senior Ryan Wysocki finished first in the conference with a .927 save percentage and third in goals against average with a 2.71 gaa.

UMass Dartmouth landed in the sixth spot, concluding the 2014-15 regular season with six wins in conference play. Casey Shea and Mike Kelly were ranked fourth and fifth in the league in points scored. Shea tallied 27 points on eight markers and 19 assists, while Kelly finished with seven goals and 19 assists for 25 points.

Ending the regular season 14-3-1 and the top seed in the Panthers of Plymouth State will turn to Andrew Wigg to help lead the team in the tournament. Wigg led the MASCAC with 15 markers and 1.45 points per contest this season. Netminder Gordon Ceasar was strong between the pipes with a league leading winning percentage of .725, while ranking second in both goals against average (2.57) and save percentage (.915).

Landing the other first round bye with a 9-7-2 conference record is the second seeded Vikings of Salem State. The freshman duo of Michael Casale and Jason Pucciarelli had solid rookie campaigns for the Vikings. Casale finished the season with 11 goals and four helpers, while tying for second among freshman in points with 15. In net, Pucciarelli lead the conference with a goals against average of 2.43 and ranked third in save percentage (.915).

Fourth seeded Westfield State ended the regular season with an 8-8-2 record in conference play. Dalton Jay led the Owls in points with 23 on 14 scores and nine assists, while ranking second in the conference in goals (14).

Fifth seed Worcester State finished up the regular season with seven league wins. Nathan Stanley paced the Lancers offense, posting a team-leading 21 points on 11 markers and ten assists for the Blue and Gold.

During the regular season, UMass Dartmouth won the season series, 2-1-0 as the Corsairs registered a pair of road victories, 6-4 and 5-3, while the Falcons posted 3-2 win at Hetland Arena in New Bedford.

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