Third Period Comeback Falls Short Versus Owls

Worcester, MA - The Lancers of the Men's Ice hockey team played a high energy game Saturday night against the Westfield State Owls in a MASCAC conference game in Worcester.

The puck found itself on both ends of the ice as possession was truly split between the Lancers and the Owls in the beginning. It seemed like it was going to be an extremely even matchup as both teams had solid shot opportunities, but Worcester needed to get organized defensively in order to build out of the back to offer offensive connections. Westfield's Christopher Miraido (Montreal, QC) scored in 13 minutes, assisted by Danny Finegan (Chicago, IL) and Emile Pichette (Saint-Eustache, QC). The Lancers received four penalties while the Owls had two in the period in what would quickly turn into a very penalty oriented match up. Sophomore goalie Wyatt Friedlander (Lake Placid, NY) kept Worcester in the game with several imperative saves. Westfield scored again, this time a shot by Andreas Fleutot (Megeve, FR) from Brett Williams (Middleboro, MA) and Dawson Garcia (Oakville, ON). 

Penalties continued to be given out on both sides. Halfway into the second, Westfield scored their third goal with a pass from Julian Boisclair (Voorhees, NJ) to Finegan. The Lancers immediately retaliated with a close shot by junior Martin Dlugolinsky (Stara Lubovna, SK) that hit off a Westfield defender into the net, assisted by junior Maxwell Tucker (Kalamazoo, MI) and senior Jason Lee (Thousand Oaks, CA). Worcester's sophomore  Shane Prifrel (Inver Grove Heights, MN) had a shot that hit off the post, just missing the goal. With several offensive drives in the last minutes of the second period, another incredible shot opportunity for the Lancers just missed. Although the score was 3-1 by the end of the second, the shots were almost even, as Worcester had 29 to Westfield's 23. 

Worcester dominated offensively in the third period with an onslaught of drives towards the goal. Their defensive game also kept up the intensity, keeping Westfield's time with the puck at a minimum. Despite this, the Lancers were not able to make up for their first period performance, and the game ended in a 3-1 loss.

The Lancers will now have a brief game hiatus as they go on winter break, and will return back to the ice on January 5th at UMass Boston.