Box Score FITCHBURG, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's ice hockey team skated to a 3-3 tie against the Falcons of Fitchburg State Thursday evening at the Wallace Civic Center. The Corsairs move to 2-5-3 on the year and 1-2-2 in MASCAC play. Fitchburg State picks up its first tie of the season, sitting at 4-4-1 and 2-3-1 in the conference.
The game marked the first contest between the two opponents since Feb. 28, 2015 when the Corsairs knocked off the No. 3-seeded Falcons in the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed by a 5-4 margin.
The game was a back-and-forth affair, with the Corsairs taking their first lead when sophomore Mike Sones (Waterdown, Ontario) found the back of the net on a power play midway through the third period. Sones' goal was set up by both senior Brandon Gilmore (Quincy, Mass.) and junior Mike Kelly (Stoneham, Mass.)
The Falcons answered back with their own power play goal when senior Mike Morrison (Scarborough, Maine.) beat Corsair netminder Drew Michals (Newton, Mass.) from right in front of the goal crease, fed by freshman Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.) with 5:26 remaining in regulation.
Gilmore began the scoring for the Corsairs, tying the contest at 1-1 near the end of the first period. The score marked his team-best sixth goal of the season as he has now registered at least one goal in the last three games and in five of UMass Dartmouth's last six outings.
Following an early second period goal from Fitchburg State junior Jon Johannesson (Red Lake, Ontario), UMass Dartmouth brought the score even five minutes later, as junior Tanner Zacharewicz (Ludlow, Mass.) registered his first goal of the season when he took skated into the attacking zone and snuck it in near post. Sophomore defenseman Joe Echelmeier (Doylestown, Pa.) helped set up the first two goals for UMass Dartmouth.
Michals turned aside 29 Falcon shots between the pipes for the Corsairs, while Fitchburg State freshman goalkeeper Kirby Saari (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) stopped 31 shots he faced.
The Corsairs outshot the Falcons 34-32 for the game, as both teams capitalized on power play advantages once, with UMass Dartmouth going 1-4 and Fitchburg State 1-2.
UMass Dartmouth had 14 skaters register at least one shot on goal, with Gilmore leading the way with a game-high seven shots on target.
The Corsairs will return to action at 7:40 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, when the Corsairs travel to Framingham State (2-6-0, 1-4-0 MASCAC).
