FITCHBURG – Senior Joseph Caveney (Fitchburg, Mass./New England Jr. Huskies) notched three points on two goals and one assist, as the Fitchburg State ice hockey team defeated Westfield State, 5-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action Thursday evening at the Wallace Civic Center.
Fitchburg State grabbed quick lead just 3:20 into the period as Caveney fired a shot into the upper right corner of the net. Freshman Max Lorenzen (Leesburg, VA/Valley Jr. Warriors) and senior Trevor Lawler (New England Jr. Huskies) assisted on the play. The trio struck again at the 7:37 mark as Caveney knocked home a loose puck in front of the net for the 2-0 margin heading into the first intermission.
In the second stanza, Westfield State cut their deficit in half (2-1) at the 5:27 mark as sophomore Frank Zuccaro (Newmarket, ON./Orangeville Flyers) notched his third score of the season on assists from junior Tyler Prendergast (Richmond Hill, ON./Whitby Fury) and freshman P.J. McCadden (Mount Sinai, N.Y./South Shore Kings).
In the final period of play, the Green and Gold upped their lead (4-1) in the span of about 30 seconds as Lawler connected on back-to-back scores. The senior forward intercepted a pass, streaked up the boards and slipped the puck into net for his second score of the season before adding his second tally of game at the 5:49 mark off an assist from Caveney to seal the victory for the Falcons.
Throughout the contest, Westfield State held a 35-27 advantage in shots, while the Falcons finished 1-for-3 on the power play.
In net, junior Randy Wolcott (East Haven, Conn./Wisconsin-Stevens Point) recorded 33 saves for Fitchburg State in the complete game effort, while junior Eddie Davey (Orangeville. ON./Abitibi Eskimos) posted 22 stops for the Owls in the setback.
Fitchburg State (4-4-1, 3-2-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Saturday as it travels to Plymouth State University for a matchup starting at 6 p.m. Westfield State (6-4-0, 3-3-0 MASCAC) will host Becker College on Saturday at 5:35 p.m.
