Box Score NEW BEDFORD, Mass. -- Freshman Clay Ellerbrock's (Tega Cay, S.C.) first collegiate goal 7:39 into the third period capped a two-goal comeback and lifted UMass Dartmouth to a 4-3 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference ice hockey victory over Fitchburg State Thursday evening at Hetland Arena.
The host Corsairs (6-10-2, 5-5-1 MASCAC) trailed 3-1 midway through the second period before slicing its deficit to one on freshman Jake Maynard's (St. John's, Ind.) tally at the 10:18 mark of the stanza. Freshman Austin Miller's (Meridian, Idaho) shorthanded marker 4:43 into the final frame evened matters and set up Ellerbrock's heroics for UMass Dartmouth, which withstood a late power play opportunity in the closing 2:43 of action by the visiting Falcons (9-7-2, 6-3-2 MASCAC) to post the triumph.
The two teams traded goals in the opening period, as freshman Gene Bouthiette (Enfield, Conn.) gave Fitchburg State the early edge before junior Kai Kapossy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) knotted the score with 1:45 to play in the first stanza. The Falcons received tallies off the sticks of freshman Wyatt Wilmshurst (Massena, N.Y.) and sophomore Patrick Sullivan (Yorktown, N.Y.) to take their two-goal advantage 9:03 into the second frame, setting up the Corsair comeback over the final 29 minutes of the contest.
Seniors Sean Leonard (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) and Cameron Mack (Long Beach, Calif.), along with junior Dillon Radin (Long Beach, N.Y.) and sophomore Jimmy Pelton (Syracuse, N.Y.), provided assists on the night for UMass Dartmouth, as sophomore Chris Stangarone (White Plains, N.Y.) made 30 saves to pick up his fifth win of the winter between the pipes for the hosts. Senior Chris Vicario (Cranston, R.I.) collected the lone helper of the night for Fitchburg State, as junior Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) suffered the setback in net with a 37-save effort for the Falcons. The Corsairs held a 41-33 advantage in shots on goal along with a slim 39-38 edge at the face off dot for the evening, as the two squads have split their two meetings during the current campaign.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Westfield State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at Hetland Arena that faces off at 4:20 pm, while Fitchburg State entertains Worcester State in a MASCAC outing on Saturday afternoon in Fitchburg, Mass. that faces off at 4:00 pm.
