Ice Hockey Clashes with UMass Dartmouth in MASCAC Quarterfinals
For the fourth time this season, the fourth-seeded Westfield State University ice hockey team will face off against fifth-seeded UMass Dartmouth in a MASCAC Quarterfinals game Saturday at 5:35 P.M. from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass.
bWESTFIELD, Mass. – After a thrilling finish in last Saturday's game, the Westfield State men's ice hockey team will face a familiar opponent, as the Owls will play host to UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 5:35 P.M. from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass. to kick off the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals.
PLEASE NOTE: The MASCAC Hockey Tournament schedule has changed due to the forecast storm for Thursday, Feb.23. The first round games originally scheduled for Thursday will now be played on Saturday, Feb. 25, the semifinals will be played on Tues., Feb 28, with the championship on Saturday, March 4.
The Owls concluded the 2022-23 regular season campaign with a record of 10-13-2 and a conference record of 6-11-1. The Owls clinched the fourth seed in the tournament after an emphatic shot and goal by senior assistant captain Justin Collins (Wilmington, Mass.). Collins shot the puck in the upper left-hand corner to provide the game winning goal against the Corsairs with 33 seconds left in regulation this past Saturday. The Owls and Corsairs will meet for the fourth time this season.
The Corsairs finished their 2022-23 regular season campaign with an 8-15-2 record while also concluding with a 6-11-1 record in conference play, earning the fifth overall seed in the MASCAC Tournament.
Currently, the Owls are unbeaten against the Corsairs, holding a 3-0 record with each of the victories coming by a single goal. It will be the third time this season that UMass Dartmouth has travelled to Westfield, with the Owls holding serve in both home contests by scores of 2-1 and 4-3. In the lone road matchup, Westfield pulled out a 3-2 win.
The Owls and Corsairs also have recent playoff history against one another as Westfield visited UMass Dartmouth in last year's conference quarterfinals with the Owls securing a 2-1 sudden-death overtime win Collins delivering the game-winner in that contest as well.
In all three Owls victories over the Corsairs this season, Westfield has scored the game-winning goal in the final five minutes of regulation in each game with JoJo Carbone (Marshfield, Mass.), Gianluca Marini (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) and then Collins this past Saturday all burying go-ahead tallies. Marini is the Owls points leader over the three meetings, recording two goals and three assists. Owls junior goalkeeper Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) has been strong between the pipes in all three matchups, totaling an average of 41.7 saves per game for a .954 save percentage.
On the other side of this matchup, some key players to watch out for on the UMass Dartmouth side are first-year forward Matthew Zdanowicz (Lyndhurst, NJ) and senior goaltender Daniel Davidson (Surry, British Columbia). Zdanowicz has fared nicely against the Owls this season, contributing two goals. Similar to his counterpart in Valtonen, Davidson has kept the Corsairs in every meeting against Westfield, registering 96 saves with a .914 save percentage.
On the season, the Owls leading point scorer is first-year forward Cooper Board (Salem, Mass.) who's scored the second-most goals in the MASCAC with 14 while adding six assists for a total of 20 points. Collins and Marini have each recorded five goals and 13 assists for 18 points. Valtonen is third in the MASCAC in goals against (2.99) and save percentage (.927) and has started in 22 of 25 games this season for Westfield.
For the Corsairs, Tyler Stewart (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is tied for the team lead in goals with ten while tallying the most points with 23. Defenseman Jake Maynard (St. John, Ind.) is fourth in the league in assists at 13. Sky Silverstein (Riverhead, N.Y.) is third in points for UMass Dartmouth with eight goals and ten assists. Davidson is top five in the conference in goals against (3.27) and save percentage (.916) and leads the MASCAC in total saves at 836.
The winner of this matchup will travel to top-seeded and #10 nationally-ranked Plymouth State in a MASCAC Semifinal game which is scheduled for Tues., Feb. 28 at 6:00 P.M. from Hanaway Rink in Plymouth, N.H.