Chillson Leads Westfield State Over Lancers, 5-3

Westfield State 5, Worcester State 3

Box Score 

Westfield, MA --- Westfield State senior Jeff Chillson (Enfield, CT) registered two goals and two assists to help lift the Owls to a 5-3 win yesterday evening over Worcester State in non-conference hockey action.

Chillson got the game started with a pair of markers 6½ minutes apart in the opening stanza to put Westfield State (10-4-4) up 2-0 after the first frame. Chillson’s first goal of the contest came off of the power play at 9:34 and it tied for the team-lead in that category with five.

The Lancers (4-11-2) responded to open the second and junior Lee Belisle (Chicopee, MA) cut the deficit in half just 52 seconds into the period on an assist from sophomore Dillon Wilde (Holden, MA). Owls junior Casey Mignone (Ramsey, NJ), however, answered the call and put Westfield State up 3-1 at 1:39 on helpers from Chillson and freshman Jimmy Alexander (Braintree, MA).

Worcester State got to within a goal again at the 6:19 mark in the second frame on a goal by junior Andrew Brady (Philadelphia, PA), but the Owls closed the period with a power-play goal by AJ Shiverdecker (Kettering, OH) at 17:18.

In the final stanza, Westfield State freshman Benni Schennach (Ehrwald, Austria) put the Owls up 5-2 midway through the third before Brady tallied his second marker of the contest at 15:27 for the final score.

Westfield State first-year goaltender Ian Wilson (Tulsa, OK) improved his record to 5-3-1 with 34 saves while his counterpart, junior Andrew Evans (Cromwell, CT) finished with 31 stops between the pipes for the Lancers.

With four points Chillson now stands tied for second on the Owls with 31 while Shiverdecker and sophomore Dennis Zak (Dover, NJ) add to their team totals with 20 and 38 points, respectively. Zak’s 38 points are currently third-best in the NCAA Division III.

Worcester State freshman Nick Asterito (Philadelphia, PA) notched assists on the second goal in the second and last goal in the third to move into a tie for the team-lead in helpers with 10.

The Lancers were 0-for-2 in extra-man opportunities while the Owls finished 2-for-4 off of the power-play. Westfield State held a 15-9 shot advantage in the first period, but Worcester State edged out their competition 28-21 through the last two frames.

The Blue and Gold continue their six-game road-trip with Southern New Hampshire on Saturday at 7 PM while the Owls head to WNEC on Sunday for a 3:30 face off.