NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Powered by the second straight hat trick of the year from sophomore
Collin Patterson and the game-winning and first collegiate goal for rookie
Brennen Pecararo, the UMass Dartmouth men's hockey team posted a 5-4 overtime win against Fitchburg State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Thursday.
The Corsairs improve to 3-1 on the season, moving to 1-0-0 in conference with the MASCAC opener at Hetland Arena this evening. The Falcons shoulder their first loss of 2024, slipping to 4-1-0 overall with a 1-1-0 mark in conference play.
It was one heck of a night for Patterson – a center – who notched a hat trick in back-to-back weekends, while adding an assist on the game-winning overtime goal. Eight different players recorded a point on the night for the Corsairs, including junior left winger
Tyler Stewart, who added a goal and an assist.
Trailing by a 3-2 margin after two periods of play, the Corsairs took advantage on the power play to open the third as Patterson sent an open-door pass through the left side of the net to grab the equalizer at 15:26. Sophomore center
Connor Little and junior defenseman and assistant captain
Lane Ruffner earned the assists on the play as Ruffner's shot was saved, while Little batted down the rebound out to Patterson.
The second-year center capitalized once again, this time at 17:49 after he roofed a pass from rookie defender
Tommy Madden – who notched his first collegiate point on the tally for the 4-3 advantage. Fellow rookie
Spencer Sykes was credited with the secondary assist – which was also his first collegiate point.
Fitchburg didn't go quietly, taking advantage in the final minute of regulation as sophomore forward Alexandre Bauvais buried a pass from senior defender Christian Halbig to tie the game at 4-all and force the overtime session.
With 2:16 remaining on the clock in overtime, Pecararo helped seal the win, tipping home a shot from Stewart that was also aided by a solid initial pass from Patterson as the Corsairs earned the overtime victory.
The Falcons opened the game's scoring at 5:54 on a score by Nicklas Millhorn, but the Corsairs responded as Patterson notched his first of the night to tie things at 1-all at 12:29. Fitchburg State opened a 3-1 margin soon after, but UMass Dartmouth answered as Stewart tallied at 18:38 on the power play to set up the final period action.
In goal, junior
Graham Burke recorded 38 saves, including 12 in the first and 16 stops in the second. It marked his fourth collegiate victory and his first as a Corsair. The Falcons saw netminder Frederick Soderberg shoulder the loss, recording 19 saves on the day.
UMass Dartmouth returns to the ice on Saturday, November 23, traveling to Framingham State for a 7:40pm MASCAC tilt against the Rams.
