FITCHBURG, Mass. - The NEC men's ice hockey team defeated Fitchburg State University on Friday night, scoring three unanswered goals to win their season opener over the Falcons, 4-2.
The Pilgrims lost a pair of tight games to the Falcons a year ago, a season in which Fitchburg State went 17-9, but it was the 'Grims that came out on top in the first game of the 2026-27 season with a strong non-conference road victory.
Senior Duncan Fleming (St. Paul, Minn.) scored the team's first goal of the season, cleaning up a loose puck in front of the Fitchburg State net off a pass from sophomore Billy Loughnane (Furlong, Pa.). The goal, Fleming's first of his Pilgrims career, gave NEC a 1-0 lead just 3:25 into the first period.
Fitchburg's Devin Niles leveled things at 1-1 with a goal five minutes later, and the Falcons took the lead on a power play goal from Aleksei Filimonov to take a 2-1 lead into the second period.
With 1:40 left in the second, senior Gunnar Sibley (Monticello, Minn.) netted the game-tying goal, scoring off a fastbreak assist from junior Egor Osipik (Minsk, Belarus) to send a tied game into the third period. With the goal, Sibley hit 50 career points in a Pilgrims uniform.
The non-conference matchup looked primed to go into overtime as the game remained tied at 2-2 with under two minutes left to play. But things quickly changed as junior Logan Nickerson (East Haddam, Conn.), making his Pilgrim debut, scored the go-ahead goal through the goaltender's five-hole to put NEC up 3-2. The score came on an assist from senior Jack Herron (Lake in the Hills, Ill.).
The Falcons pulled goalkeeper Frederick Soderberg to go a man-up with a minute to go, but the NEC defense stood tall and senior Dylan Duckson (Mahtomedi, Minn.) put the game out of reach with an empty net goal assisted by sophomore Matteo Viglino (Davos, Switzerland)
Junior Anthony Beaulieu (Lawrence, Mass.) brushed off the two first period goals he conceded to tally 39 saves on the night, starting off the season with a strong .951 save percentage. He faced 26 shots on net across the second and third periods and held the Falcons scoreless to help spark the comeback victory.
The Pilgrims will now look ahead to their home opener on Friday, November 6th, which will double as the team's conference opener against Vermont State University-Castleton at 7:00 PM.
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