Fitchburg State Powers Past Men's Ice Hockey, 5-0

FITCHBURG, MASS. – Fitchburg State's power play proved lethal, converting four of eight opportunities as the Falcons cruised to a 5-0 shutout over Framingham State on Thursday evening at Fitchburg.

THE BASICS:

• Score: Fitchburg State 5, Framingham State 0
• Records: Framingham State (5-13-0, 2-7-0 MASCAC), Fitchburg State (15-5-0, 8-1-0 MASCAC)
• Location: Fitchburg, Massachusetts

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Fitchburg State needed just 4:20 to get on the board, as Hunter Dunn scored at even strength to make it 1-0. It was the only even-strength goal of the night.
• The Falcons doubled their lead on the power play at 7:38 of the first when Dunn struck again, this time assisted by Aleksei Filimonov and Christian Halbig, just 20 seconds into the man advantage following a Framingham interference penalty.
• Filimonov made it 3-0 at 13:09 of the first, scoring on the power play just six seconds after a Framingham tripping penalty, with assists from Tye Battipaglia and Dunn.
• Fitchburg State extended the lead to 4-0 at 13:35 of the second period when Devin Niles converted on another power play, assisted by Battipaglia and Dunn. The goal came just 10 seconds into the advantage.
• Andrey Bondarev capped the scoring at 10:01 of the third with a power play goal, assisted by Marcus Macchioni and Trenton Skaggs, making it 5-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Fitchburg State went 4-for-8 on the power play; Framingham State was 0-for-4.
• Fitchburg State outshot Framingham State 28-25.
• Falcons goaltender Frederick Soderberg stopped all 25 shots for the shutout.
• Framingham State's Benjamin O'Keefe made 23 saves on 28 shots in the loss.
• Hunter Dunn led all skaters with two goals and two assists (four points) and a game-high six shots on goal, finishing at +4.
• Battipaglia (two assists) and Dunn combined for seven points on the night.
• Fitchburg State dominated faceoffs, winning 32-of-60 (53%).
• Framingham State was assessed 10 penalties for 34 minutes, including a game misconduct to Jeremy Zecher in the third period. Fitchburg State was called for seven penalties for 33 minutes.

UP NEXT:

• The Rams travel to Salem State for a MASCAC clash on Saturday at 7pm.