Ice Hockey Tops Worcester, 4-2

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior forward Cooper Board (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) scored once and added an assist and Aiden Winslow (Jacksonville, Fla.) piled up 40 saves as Westfield State defeated Worcester State 4-2 in a MASCAC game from Worcester, Mass. on Thursday night.

The Owls advance to 2-0 in the MASCAC and 3-3 overall while the Lancers are now 0-1-2 in the conference and 2-2-3 overall.

Westfield built a 2-0 lead and maintained that advantage into the third period. Jesper Seeberg (Lake Worth, Fla.) got the scoring started in the closing stages of the first period, burying his third goal of the season off an assist from Kelly Coldwater (St. Louis, Mo.) for a 1-0 lead.

The Owls quickly doubled the advantage out of the intermission with Louis Ouellet (Baie-Comeau, Quebec) recording his third marker of the year 55 seconds into the second. Westfield entered the third period with a two-goal lead in part to the stellar play in net from Winslow who made 27 saves through two frames to keep Worcester off the scoreboard.

A late penalty committed by the Owls spilled into the third period, allowing the Lancers to cut the deficit in half 33 seconds into the third after Sean Tyrie netted a man-advantage goal to make it 2-1. The Owls answered the Lancers goal not even a minute later with Board potting a shot off a feed from Emile Pichette (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) and Ouellet to increase the margin to two goals.

With less than five to go in regulation, Worcester again trimmed the Westfield lead to one goal this time off the stick of Cam Quigley with 3:36 left in the game. The Lancers pulled goalkeeper Donovan Alfama with just over two minutes left for the extra skater and after an initial save by Winslow, Xavier Tremblay (Sainte-Adele, Quebec) was able to possess the loose puck and fire a shot into the empty net to secure the victory.

Worcester pulled the goalie again with 1:20 left but to no avail. Winslow made five saves in the final minute of the game to hold off a late Lancers push and Raphael Seguin (Saint-Lazare, Quebec) blocked the last shot attempt.

Winslow stopped 40 of 42 shots in a dominant effort in between the pipes. Worcester outshot Westfield 42-28 on the night.

The Owls will be back in action at home for their next game, hosting MCLA in a MASCAC contest on Saturday at 5:35 P.M. from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass.