WESTFIELD – Junior forward Cameron Snyder (Shawnee, Kan.) scored two goals and dished out two assists, leading Fitchburg State past Westfield State, 10-4, in MASCAC hockey action Thursday night at Amelia Park Ice Arena.
With the win, the Falcons move into third place in the league standings, improving to 4-3-1 in the MASCAC and 7-7-1 overall. Westfield, meanwhile, drops to 9-6 on the season and 4-4 in the MASCAC, good for fourth place.
With the game knotted at one late in the first period, Fitchburg State netted three goals in the span of two minutes to take a commanding 4-1 lead after the first period.
First, Snyder put home a missed shot that bounced off the boards and back in front of the net to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead with 6:54 remaining in the period. About a minute later, Snyder won a faceoff, directing the puck back to senior forward John Celli (Leominster, Mass.), who one-timed it home for the goal. Senior forward Nat Rojas (Elkridge, MD) added an unassisted goal on a hard slap shot to cap off the first period scoring.
Westfield State senior captain Dalton Jay (Hamilton, Ont.) scored a shorthanded goal seconds into the second period, breaking free near center ice before beating freshman goalkeeper Charless Jakobsson (Jonkoping, Sweden) with a top shelf wrist shot on the glove side.
Fitchburg State, however, scored two goals in 10 seconds, and five goals in the second period, to take a commanding 9-3 lead into the final frame.
The Falcons first line of forwards—Rojas (1 goal, 2 assists), Celli (1 goal, 3 assists), Snyder (2 goals, 2 assists)—combined for 4 goals and 7 assists on the evening.
Freshman forward Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.) added two goals and two assists for Fitchburg, while Ricky Kramer, Ryan Connolly, Mike Fish, and Jon Johnannesson each tallied a goal.
Jakobsson made 32 saves to earn the win in net for the Falcons. Westfield State junior goaltender Jonathan LoParco (Vaughn, Ont.) stopped 11 shots before being replaced by freshman Jake Carter (El Segundo, Calif.) midway through the second period. Carter (13 saves) and senior Evan Moorhouse (2 saves) each saw their first action in net for the Owls.
Westfield sophomore defenseman Lenny Caglianone (Matawan, N.J.) scored his first goal of the season on a shot from the slot to tie the game at 1 in the first period. Freshman Aaron Clancy (Quincy, Mass.) and senior Kyllian Kirkwood (Copper Cliff, Ont.) also scored for the Owls. Freshman defenseman Carl Greco (Niagara Falls, Ont.) led Westfield with two assists.
The Owls travel to UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, January 16 at 4 p.m. for the beginning of a three-game MASCAC road slate. – Courtesy of Westfield State Sports
