BOSTON, Mass. – Powered by goals from six different players, the UMass Dartmouth men's hockey team defeated Fitchburg State, 6-3 in the Consolation Game of the 59th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament at UMass Boston. The Corsairs improve to 5-5 on the season, while the Falcons slip to 7-4 overall.
It was UMass Dartmouth that opened the game's scoring at 2:31 as rookie defenseman
Noah Webster scored his first collegiate goal. Picking the pocket of a Falcons defender in the zone, Webster skated through the right circle and banked a shot in past Fitchburg's keeper.
The visitors answered with back-to-back goals, but nearing the end of the frame, the Corsairs answered. Junior right wing and assistant captain
Brandon Clark netted the equalizer at 18:44 as UMD once again stole the puck from the Falcons. Corralling the puck, Clark skated into the slot and sent a backhanded shot past the reach of Soderberg for the 2-2 score after the opening period.
Fitchburg State got the go-ahead at 5:58 into the second period on a tally from Samuel Rennick, but the Corsairs responded with three unanswered goals to open up a 5-3 advantage. UMD netted the 3-3 equalizer at 7:02 as a fantastic pass from the left circle to the right by Clark, found sophomore center
Doug Doren, who fired it in for his first collegiate tally. Junior left wing
Tyler Stewart earned the secondary assist with an excellent pass to Clark from the defensive zone.
The Corsairs made it a 4-3 lead on the power play at 10:00 as junior right wing and assistant captain
Kevin Johnston sent a shot in from the top of the right circle. The shot was saved by Soderberg, but the rebound deflected off a defender and into the net. Stewart and junior defender and assistant captain
Lane Ruffner earned the assists on the goal.
With less than a minute remaining in the period, the Corsairs opened up the 5-3 advantage as Johnston found a speeding Stewart into the offensive zone. The junior made a heads-up pass to the right circle as rookie center
Spencer Sykes buried it for his first collegiate tally.
In the final period of play, UMD got its final goal at the 10:25 mark as graduate student captain and defender
Cade Hanley corralled the puck in the defensive zone and fired the puck up to Stewart in the FSU zone. Another strong pass to the right saw Stewart find sophomore right wing
Alex Walker, who flipped a beautiful backhanded shot into the net.
The Corsairs were paced by six different scorers, while Clark and Johnston each added an assist with their goals. Stewart posted four assists on the afternoon, while sophomore center
Nolan Wutzke led the way in the faceoff circle, going 11-of-20 in the contest. In goal, junior
Marshall McKallip earned the victory, recording 43 saves, including 13 in the first, 11 in the second and 19 in the third period.
Fitchburg State was anchored by three different goal scorers, while Soderberg shouldered the loss with 18 saves over 50:25 minutes of play. Alexander Falkenhagen came on for the final 9:35 of relief and made four saves for a combined 22 stops on the afternoon.
UMass Dartmouth return to the ice on Thursday when they host Worcester State University in MASCAC. Puck drop is at 4pm at Hetland Arena.
