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Posted: Jan 04, 2024

Men’s Hockey Drops Heartbreaker in Overtime to Fitchburg State

First-year forward Addam Brunner had a team-high four shots on goal.
First-year forward Addam Brunner had a team-high four shots on goal.
Video Box Score

FITCHBURG, Mass.— The MCLA Men's Hockey team returned from their winter break with a MASCAC matchup on the road against the Fitchburg State Falcons at the Wallace Civic Center. First-year netminder Mathew Gover and Fitchburg's' Max Macchioni engaged in a scoreless duel through 60 minutes, with Gover recording 48 saves and Macchioni stopping 30. The game's lone goal was scored by Fitchburg's Adam Nedelka on the power play with 1:57 expired in the overtime period.

THE BASICS:

  • Date: Thursday, January 4, 2024
  • Score: MCLA 0, Fitchburg State 1
  • Records: MCLA Trailblazers 2-9-1 (MASCAC 0-7-1) | Fitchburg State Falcons 6-3-2 (MASCAC 5-1-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • MCLA's first-year goalie Mathew Gover, stonewalled the Falcons for the first 61 minutes, stopping the first 48 shots that he faced.
  • Fitchburg went on the power play 42 seconds into the overtime period when the Trailblazers were called for a hooking penalty. Facing a four-on-three, Gover stopped the first two shots on the penalty kill, knocking down a slap shot by Nedelka from the slot and then parrying away a wrister from Antoine Gignac while being screened by the 6'-3" Toivo Kramer in front of the net. Despite the initial shot getting away, Gover was able to cover the puck up before Kramer could find the rebound.
  • The Falcons then won the ensuing faceoff but had the puck ricochet off the boards out of the Trailblazers' defensive zone. After retrieving the puck, the hosts returned to their offensive end and cycled the puck around the outside, probing the MCLA defense until Nedelka fired off a low-line drive shot from just above the left-hand faceoff circle that must have had eyes to find its way through to the lower left corner of the goal.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

  • Shots: MCLA 30, FSU 49
  • Saves: MCLA 48, FSU 30
  • Faceoffs Won: MCLA 26, FSU 42
  • Penalty/Minutes: MCLA 3/6:00, FSU 4/8:00
  • Power Plays: MCLA 0 for 4, FSU 1 for 3

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when they play host to UMass-Dartmouth for a MASCAC matchup with the Corsairs at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink. The puck will drop at 7 p.m.

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