BOSTON, Mass. – Junior forward Evan Googins netted two goals, bringing his season total to three to help UMass Boston Men's Ice Hockey down Fitchburg State University in the first round of the 57^th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament, 4-1, at Edward T. Barry Ice Rink on Thursday afternoon.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 4, Fitchburg State University 1

UMass Boston (4-8-0)

Fitchburg State University (5-3-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Beacons would strike first and never look back in the contest, as they peppered freshman goalie Max Macchioni with 13 shots on goal in the opening period. With a power play opportunity just before the halfway point of the first, senior defender Ryan Rowland found Googins on the right side near the blue line who fired a shot near the circle past Macchioni to give UMass Boston the 1-0 advantage with 9:34 left.

Just 1:03 later, Fitchburg State would tie things up when senior forward Hunter Fortin took the faceoff into the offensive zone, moving right to left on senior goalie Sam Best, and netting the equalizer goal for the Falcons as the game went into the second period tied at one.

Junior forward Owen Bourdow gave the Beacons the lead back with just over 13 minutes remaining in the second period after sophomore forward Devin Moran streaked into the zone before dumping a pass to Googins behind him. Googins would reconnect with a pass to Moran who connected with Bourdow on the left side of the net for the high left corner goal against Macchioni.

Tallying his second goal in as many periods, two passes on the defensive end by senior defender Davis Browning and Bourdow led to Googins streaking down the left side of the offensive zone and freezing Macchioni with a right high corner shot to extend the Beacon advantage to two, 3-1.

Notching his second goal of the season, junior forward Corey Clifton recorded the fourth and final goal of the afternoon for UMass Boston, rifling a shot by Macchioni after junior defender Blake Colman hit him with a pass, helping the Beacons come away with the 4-1 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Freshman forward Mike Manzo won 19 of the 21 faceoffs he took for UMass Boston 
• The UMass Boston power play converted on two of their five chances while killing off all five of the Fitchburg State University man-up opportunities
• Max Macchioni recorded 36 saves on 40 attempts taken on net by the Beacons
• Sam Best stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced from the Falcons, recording his best performance in net since November 12^th against Southern Maine in a shutout road win  

 
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will take on the winner of the other first-round matchup in the 57^th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament taking place between Tufts University and Albertus Magnus College at 4:30 PM. The Beacons and their opponent decided later tonight will square off in the Championship Game at 4:30 PM tomorrow afternoon at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink.

The Beacons are 1-0-0 all-time against Albertus Magnus College, having beaten them 9-2 back during the 2019-2020 season at home while holding a 10-6-1 record against Tufts University, with their last matchup being a 3-1 victory for UMass Boston in the 54^th Annual Codfish Bowl.