Fitchburg State Skates to 3-1 Victory Over Vikings

SALEM, Mass. – Ryan Murphy (Wayzata, Minn.) scored three times in the second period as his hat-trick helped lift Fitchburg State to a 3-1 win over Salem State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest on Saturday afternoon at Rockett Arena. The Falcons improve to 3-1 and 1-1 in conference while the Vikings slide to 0-3 and 0-2 in the MASCAC.

Salem State dominated the first period, outshooting the Falcons 13-5 over the first 20 minutes.

Goalie Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) snuffed out the Vikings best chance of the period, when he denied Billy McGwin (Rochester, Mass.) on a Salem State 2-on-1 power play opportunity.

Murphy started his scoring outburst in the second when he put Fitchburg State on the board at the 5:01 mark after the Falcons withstood a Salem State power play. After notching another goal at 8:24 of the period, Murphy hit the tri-fecta when he fired in a rebound past goalie Sean Cleary (Barnstable, Mass.) at 13:29.

Connor Woolley (Poghuag, N.Y) broke the shutout when he put back a loose puck just outside the crease at 11:56 of the third to pull Salem State to within two goals.

McGrath made 39 saves in the victory while Cleary stopped 32 shots. The Vikings held a 39-32 advantage in shots.