Men’s Ice Hockey Wraps Up Homestand with 4-3 Setback to Westfield State

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Westfield State University Owls defeated the Lancers of Worcester State by a score of 4-3 in a Saturday afternoon Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) outing at the Worcester Ice Center.

THE BASICS

January 20, 2018

Worcester Ice Center

Score: Westfield State 4, Worcester State 3

Records: Westfield State (5-9-1, 3-6-0 MASCAC) | Worcester State (11-5-0, 6-4-0 MASCAC)

1^ST PERIOD

Scoring started with Tim Drevitch (Oxford, N.J.) finding twine on a wrist shot from the right side of the net. Ryan James (Katy, Texas) and Matthew Manning (Novi, Mich.) assisted on the goal giving the Lancers the 1-0 lead.  The goal was quickly followed with another Lancer goal from Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.) with help from Mitchell Purdie (Peterborough, Ont.).  Westfield State finally was able to get on the board with a power play opportunity. Jeremy Young (Lynnfield, Mass.) was able to get past Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills, Calif.), assists were awarded to Aaron Clancy (Quincy, Mass.) and Nik Passero (Fort Erie, Ont.).  Westfield then came out and scored again when a fight for the puck behind the net left an open F.X. Girard (St. Lazare, Quebec) skating down ice for a shot into the upper right corner of the net and went in behind Reinstein. Samuel Gagnon (Ile-Bizard, Quebec) and Pearce Vance (Berkley, Mich.) assisted. The period ended with the Owls and Lancers knotted up at 2-2.

2^ND PERIOD

The Lancers had an opportunity early in the period when Moran came charging up ice gave a quick pass over to Drevitch who just pushed the shot wide of the net. The lone goal of the period came when Carl Greco (Niagara Falls, Ont.) made a move on his defender and found space along the right side of the net to fire off a wrist shot into the back of the net. Girard and Jordan Mardirossian (Monroeville, Pa.) were awarded assists on the goal.  At the end of the period the Owls were in possession of a 3-2 lead.

3^RD PERIOD

The Lancers were able to knot up the game with a goal coming at 3:29 in the period, when James was able to control and shoot the puck, coming off of the pad of Ken Limburg (Howell, Mich.).  The goal was assisted by Purdie and Brian Allen (Brookfield, Conn.).  Westfield State would respond with a goal of their own coming off a pass from the blue line and redirected in for the goal by Clancy to put the Owls up 4-3. The Lancers had an opportunity with just under a minute remaining to tie it with a pair of shots that were saved by Limburg.  The final score of the game concluded at 4-3.

NUMBER CRUNCHING

• Despite power play opportunities being even at five, Westfield was able to score on one of their opportunities. Worcester State held the edge on shots attempted during power plays, 8-4.
• There were 12 blocked shots on the game with the 7-5 edge going to the Owls.  Westfield had six players getting in front of the puck, the Lancers had five. 
• Westfield State outshot the Lancers by one, holding onto a 32-31 advantage.  The Lancers held a 5-shot advantage in the 1^st period, 14-9, Westfield held a 6-shot advantage in the 2^nd, 12-6, and the count was tied in the third, 11-11.
• Young, Greco, Clancy and Girard from Westfield, while James from Worcester had a goal and an assist on the day.
• Purdie led in assists for the game with two.
• Both Limburg and Reinstein each made 28 saves in the outing.

UP NEXT

Worcester State's men's ice hockey team hits the road next week, traveling to UMass Dartmouth on Thursday (Jan. 25) and then Fitchburg State on Saturday (Jan. 27). Westfield State travels to Fitchburg on Thursday (Jan. 25) for a 7 p.m. tilt.

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Release written by Nicholas Gendreau | Sports Information Intern