FITCHBURG, Mass.  – Sophomore forward Sascha Figi (Kloten, Swtizerland) recorded a hat trick as Fitchburg State defeated Westfield State 8-1 in MASCAC action Thursday night at Wallace Civic Center.

Fitchburg State opened the scoring at 3:38 into the first period as junior Kyle Hillick (Byfield, Mass.) gathered a feed from senior Ricky Kramer (Barnstead, N.H.) and junior Dean Zerby (Harrisburg, Penn.) and found the back of the net for his fourth tally on the season for the 1-0 margin.

The Falcons doubled their margin (2-0) 26 seconds later when sophomore Sascha Figi (Kloten, Switzerland) deposited a shot into the lower left corner for his team-leading eighth goal of the year off assist from senior Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.) and junior Christopher Vicario (Cranston, R.I.) before the Green and Gold extended its lead late in the frame as Kramer connected on a power-play marker for his sixth goal of the 2018-19 season to make the score 3-0.

In the middle period, Fitchburg State upped its advantage just five minutes into period when DiNicola settled a feed from Kramer and Figi and buried a shot into the back of the net for his fifth goal on the season for the 4-0 lead.

The Falcons secured the victory with just under four minutes left in the second period when Figi gathered a pass from Kramer and struck for his second tally of the contest. Westfield State broke its scoring silence with just over five minutes left in the contest as junior Pearce Vance (Berkley, Mass.) connected on his second marker of the year, resulting in the 8-1 final.

Fitchburg outshot the Owls 26-23 in the contest. Westfield State goaltender Thierry Messervier (Montreal, Quebec) allowed five goals on 17 shots before being replaced by freshman Tyler Shugrue (Point Roberts, Wash.) who made six saves on nine shots faced. For Fitchburg, starter Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) made 22 saves allowing just one goal in the contest.

With the loss, the Owls fall to 3-3-2 mark on the season and an even 2-2 in the MASCAC, while Fitchburg improves to 5-3-2 overall, 2-1-2 in the MASCAC.

Westfield State looks to get back on track Saturday night as they take on Plymouth State University Saturday night at Amelia Park, with puck drop scheduled for 5:35 p.m.

(Story courtesy of Jamie Rogers, Fitchburg State Sports Information)