Men’s Hockey Fall 3-1 at Fitchburg

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Ice Hockey team hit the road this evening, heading to the Wallace Civic Center, matching up with the Fitchburg State University Falcons for the first time since the teams met in the MASCAC championship game last season. A three goal first period would set the tone for the home team while the Trailblazers would have to settle for a single goal from Quinn Murphy. The 3-1 outcome for Fitchburg would match the ending of the conference championship game.

THE BASICS

• Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026
• Score: MCLA 1, Fitchburg 3
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 4-10-3 (MASCAC 2-3-1) | Fitchburg State University Falcons 12-5-0 (MASCAC 5-1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons scored three goals in the first period. The first was scored by John Mantone (2:13 of 1^st period, assisted by Bondarev), assisted by Andrey Bondarev. The second was credited to Aleksei Filimonov (7:54, Battipaglia) off a pass from Tye Battipaglia. The final goal of the period went to Devin Niles (19:48, Bronte & Filimonov) with the helpers being credited to Declan Bronte and Aleksei Filimonov. Fitchburg enjoyed a 19-5 advantage in shots on goal in the opening period.
• MCLA would score what would be their only goal of the evening in the second period. Junior forward Quinn Murphy (Champaign, IL / Philadelphia H.C.) forced a turnover in the left corner, sending the puck out in front of the net to junior forward Christopher Gallagher (Albany. NY / Islanders H.C.) who flipped the puck off the right-side pipe as Murphy crashed to the net and buried the rebound under the crossbar. The goal was the second of the year for Murphy, and the helper was the same for Gallagher.
• While the final period was scoreless, it wasn't without excitement. Despite having to open the third period with nearly three of the first four minutes being on penalty kill, the Trailblazers kept pressure on the Fitchburg goalie Frederick Soderberg, out shooting the home team 14-9.
• The Falcons' Soderberg stopped 27 of 28 shots to improve his record to 10-3-0. MCLA's freshman goalie Roco Stolz (Denver, CO / Charlotte Rush) recorded 34 saves on 37 shots but still fell to 4-6-2.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shots: MCLA 28, Fitchburg 37
• Saves: MCLA 34, Fitchburg 27
• Faceoffs Won: MCLA 35, Fitchburg 31
• Penalty/Minutes: MCLA 5/21:00, Fitchburg 6/12:00
• Power Plays: MCLA 0 for 5, Fitchburg 0 for 4

UP NEXT

On Thursday, MCLA will be back in action when hosts Salem State University at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink for a MASCAC matchup with the Vikings. The puck will drop at 8 p.m.

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