Fitchburg State Sails Past UMass Dartmouth, 6-3

Celli and Rojas combine for five points in Falcons MASCAC victory

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Senior forward John Celli registered a pair of goals, while classmate Nat Rojas added one score and two helpers as the Fitchburg State ice hockey team defeated the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth, 6-3 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at Hetland Arena.

In the first period, Fitchburg State opened the scoring with just one second remaining in the frame as junior forward Jon Johannesson one timed  a shot inside the far post for his third marker on the season off assists from  Johannesson and Rojas for the 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.

The Falcons doubled their margin (2-0) at the 10:35 mark when sophomore forward James Gordon gathered a loose puck in front of the net and deposited his shot into the back of the net for his third goal on the year.

The Green and Gold upped it advantage just two minutes later as Celli struck for his eighth tally of the season on feeds from freshman Connor McPherson and senior Ryan Connolly before Fitchburg State took a 4-0 lead at the 13:48 mark when newcomer Michael Fretz wristed a shot into left side of the net for his ninth goal of the 2015-16 campaign.

UMass Dartmouth broke its scoring silence with 59 second left in the second period as sophomore Casey Shea received  a pass from classmate Jerry Lasko and junior Mike Kelly and buried a shot into the left side of net for his team-leading tenth goal on the year to make the score 4-1 after two periods of play.

In the final stanza, Fitchburg State added a pair of quick scores as Celli collected his second goal of the contest at the 4:47 mark before Rojas notched his fifth marker of the season roughly one minute later for the 6-1 lead.

Following a goal by Kelly, the Corsairs capped the scoring with just over two minutes remaining in the contest when sophomore Brandon Berkley fired a shot inside the near post for his second tally on the year, resulting in the 6-3 final.

Throughout the contest Fitchburg State held a 39-28 advantage in shots, while the Corsairs finished 1-for-5 on the power-play. In goal, freshman Charles Jakobsson made 25 saves for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while counterpart Tommy Bay turned aside 33 shots for UMass Dartmouth in the setback.

Fitchburg State (8-10-1; 5-6-1) returns to the ice next Thursday as it travels to Framingham State to take on the Rams at 7:30 p.m. UMass Dartmouth 5-9-3, 4-5-2 MASCAC) will host Framingham State University on Saturday at 4 p.m.

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