Men's Hockey Gets First Home Victory

The Men's hockey team was able to get a 6-3 victory over Fitchburg State on Thursday (Nov. 14th) night. The win gives the Panthers a 2-3 overall record, and they now have a 1-1 record in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

Fitchburg got on the scoreboard only 2:19 into the contest after a penalty on Mike Economos (Crystal Lakes, Ill.). PSU was able to answer back relatively quickly, as Andrew Wigg (Lantz, N.S.) was able to put the puck in the back of the net after a nice setup from both Zach Sarig (Reading, PA), and Zach Fox (Sandown, N.H.). This was Wigg's first goal on the season, but he, as well as the rest of the Panthers, were just getting the party started. With 5:07 left in the first period, and each team searching for some type of momentum to end the first period with, Ian McGilvrey (Ohaha, NB) gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead after Sarig and Mike Freitag (Westmont, Ill.) set up the first year Panther with his third goal on the season.

The second period featured back-and-fourth play between both offensive zones, but Fitchburg was able to capitalize in the period after scoring with about eight minutes left in the period. With both teams scoring two goals apiece, the third period was set-up for one team to capture the win.

There wasn't much time wasted once the third period got going, as Sarig scored a goal only :29 into the final period. The pressure kept coming on strong for the Panthers, as Freitag scored his first goal of the season only twenty seconds later. Fitchburg called a timeout immediately after the Freitag goal, as they looked to regroup.

This timeout, which Head Coach Craig Russell stated was the "turning point of the game", showed some true maturity, as well as leadership by senior captain Dave Walters (Ottawa, Ont.). Russell stated that Walters got the team together upon the timeout was called, and explained that Walters "told everyone that this game wasn't over yet, and that they need to close the game out."

Both teams started to settle down over the next ten minutes, but Economos was able to deliver a beautiful pass to Baxter Strachan (Sioux City, IA) to give the Panthers a 5-2 lead. Despite the fact that Fitchburg was able to add another goal only 2:19 later, the lead was too much for the Falcons to overcome. Andrew Wigg put the Falcons out of their misery, as he added a shorthanded, empty net goal with 1:09 left in the contest.

In the win, not only did goalie Tyler Ingerson (Concord, N.H.) record 26 saves in the contest, but he recorded his second straight home victory against Fitchburg. Helping out Ingerson on defense included Colt Smelstor (Fairfax, VT), as well as Erik Strom (Gothenburg, Sweden).

Despite not recording points in this specific contest, Josh Woody (Sunderland, MD) and Chad Barthelmess (Norristown, PA) were flying all over the ice, and physically wore the Falcons down. Barthelmess had a number of checks that got a very enthusiastic crowd on their feet on numerous occasions.

The Panthers do not have another home contest for a few weeks, as they have their next two contests on the road, starting with a game against UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, November 16th. With having 15 contest on the road this season, Russell will look for his team to step up, as he, as well as the rest of the team, know how crucial it is to win on the road in order to clinch the regular season MASCAC title.