Men's Ice Hockey Clipped by Falcons 4-2

WORCESTER, Mass.- Worcester State men's ice hockey fell 4-2 in the final regular season game against the Fitchburg Falcons in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action Tuesday night at Worcester Ice Center.

The Lancers end the season 6-17-2 and 3-13-1 in league play. The Falcons close out their season 14-7-4 and 11-3-4 in the MASCAC.

The first period was an even draw where both defenses held strong against their opponents. Fitchburg finally struck first when Anthony Ceolin (Simsbury, Conn.) put one in the back of the net on a power play goal. Dean Zerby (Harrisburg, Penn.) followed up later in the period with his own goal assisted by Ceolin and Christopher Vicario (Cranston, R.I.).

Nick Patullo (Doylestown, Pa.) answered back in the third period when Matthew Manning (Novi, Mich.) and Tim Drevitch (Oxford, N.J.) set him up to get one past the Falcon defense. Ceolin nabbed another goal for Fitchburg when he found his second of the night on another power play opportunity. Just about a minute later Manning cut the deficit by sailing one past the Falcon goaltender, Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.).

Down 3-2, the Lancers pulled Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills, Calif.) in an effort to tie the game. They were unable to get a shot past McGrath in the finals minutes. Ceolin did grab an empty netter to complete his hat trick on the night.

Nevin Tardiff (Dunstable, Mass.) played the first two periods for the Lancers where he stopped 18 shots. Reinstein turned away ten shots in his efforts. McGrath stopped 28 shots in the win.

Teams are awaiting the MASCAC bracket for their spot in the tournament.

#WooMIH