Ice Hockey Edged By Westfield State At Home, 3-2

Worcester, MA --- Westfield State junior Dalton Jay (Hamilton, Ontario/Hamilton Red Wings) deposited the game-winning goal with 2:33 remaining in regulation to help lift the Owls to a 3-2 victory over Worcester State in MASCAC men's ice hockey action this evening at the Hart Recreation Center.

With the victory the Owls improve to 11-9-1 and 8-5-1 in MASCAC action while the Lancers slip to 4-13-2 and 3-9-1 in the seven-team loop.

Junior Kyllian Kirkwood (Copper Cliff, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) helped put the Owls up 1-0 after the first period when he found the back of the net just seven ticks into a power play. After passes around the horn by freshman Donovan Gardiner (Sterling Heights, MI/Tri-City Storm) and Jay, Kirkwood netted his fourth of the campaign at the 16:52 mark.

After being outshot 9-2 in the opening stanza, the Lancers came out of the gate firing on all cylinders and found success midway through the second period and tied up the score with 9:07 off the clock.

Senior Andrew Bates (Marblehead, MA/Boston Jr. Bulldogs) potted his fourth of the campaign after he took a feed from junior Nicholas Drill (Madison, WI/Wisconsin Wilderness) following a long pass into the neutral zone from freshman net minder Tyler Fallica (Coram, NY/Ogden Mustangs).

Westfield State though responded by going up 2-1 with 4:44 remaining in the second period.

Freshman Cody Campbell-Rich (Bellingham, WA/Bellingham Blazers) helped the visitors take advantage of a turnover and he finished high on the stick side by the left dot for his fourth of the season with senior Dan Loughlin (Methuen, MA/New England Stars) and freshman Jeremy Young (Lynnfield, MA) recording assists on the play.

The Blue and Gold, however, wasted little time answering the call as sophomore Alex DeWitz (Oronco, MN/Helena Bighorns) scored his third tally of the year for the equalizer off a rebounded shot by senior Vinny Bohn (Spring Hill, FL), first played in by Bates just 61 seconds later.

Nearly 20 minutes of scoreless play set the stage for Westfield State to build the momentum and net the go-ahead goal in the third period.

The visitors won the face-off and after Jay ripped a shot as he crossed the blue line, the puck slipped past the reach of Fallica for his 14th of the year to move into second overall in the MASCAC. Sophomore Jackson Leef (Fort Wayne, IN/Texas Tornado) and senior Frank Zuccaro (Newmarket, Ontario/Orangeville Flyers) each picked up helpers on the match-clinching tally.

Just moments before Jay scored for the Owls, Worcester State senior Rich Ledy (Marquette, MI/Soo Thunderbirds) nearly gave his squad the one marker edge when he had a chance at a tip-in, on the right side of the net. But Westfield State senior Ian Perrier (Whitehorse, Yukon Territory) diagnosed the play beautifully and batted the puck out of harms way.

Perrier turned aside 24 shots to earn the third star of the night for the Owls while Fallica collected 21 shots in 59:39 minutes of action for the Blue and Gold.

Westfield State went 1-for-3 on the power play while Worcester State did not take advantage of their only chance in the opening stanza. The Lancers finished with the 26-24 edge in shots on goal and failed to place a shot on net with an extra attacker on the ice in the final 21 seconds of the game.

Both squads play Fitchburg State in the next week to begin their last third of the MASCAC regular season slate. Worcester State hosts the Falcons on Thursday at 8 PM while the Owls head to the Wallace Civic Center on the road for a 5:30 face-off on Saturday.