FITCHBURG, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s hockey team scored twice in the third period, but their late rally fell short, and they lost to host Fitchburg State, 3-2, in a Massachusetts College Athletic Conference semi-final playoff game at the Wallace Civic Center Thursday evening.

Andrew Hutton gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead when he scored at 7:43 of the first period. In the second period, Fitchburg State got a power play goal from Kevin McCready at 1:33, and a goal from Thomas McAleer at 3:32 to take a 3-0 lead. But UMD senior goaltender Jon Dryjowicz-Burek (Ludlow, MA/Springfield Jr. Falcons) kept the Falcons off the board for the remainder of the period, making 31 saves in the first two periods as the Falcons held a 34-12 advantage in shots on goal heading into the third period.

Junior defenseman Adam Horgan (Clayton, NC/Jersey Hitmen) put the Corsairs on the board with a power play goal at 9:08 of the third period. UMass Dartmouth pulled Dryjowicz-Burek with 1:13 remaining, and sophomore forward Rob Dudley (Douglas, MA/Middlesex School) scored with 45 seconds left to play, each team a man short and Dryjowicz-Burek off for an extra attacker. But the Corsairs were unable to put another shot past FSC goaltender Robert Vorse. 

“Fitchburg was the better team tonight,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach John Rolli. “Thet certainly played like a top seed at home. We got off to an uncharacteristically slow start. Burek stood on his head. He kept the score respectable, and we got a little bit of a jump when Horgan scored the power play goal.”

The Falcons out shot the Corsairs, 41-23. Dryjowicz-Burek made 38 saves for UMass Dartmouth, while Vorse made 21 for Fitchburg State.

UMD dropped to 11-14-1 with the defeat, while Fitchburg State improved to 19-5-1 with the victory. The Falcons will return to action when they host Salem State in the MASCAC Championship game on Saturday. The game was the final action of the season for the Corsairs.
. 
	
			UMASS DARTMOUTH HOCKEY