Owls Dismantle Lancers in Conference Quarterfinal, 5-0

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Third-seeded Westfield State hockey got five different goal scorers including the first from senior Nicolas Coppola (Glendale, Ariz.) as the Owls thrashed sixth-seeded Worcester State 5-0 in a MASCAC Quarterfinal matchup from Amelia Park Arena on Thursday night.

With the victory, the Owls (17-7-2) advance into the conference semifinals to face second-seeded Fitchburg State on Saturday at 4:00 P.M. For the Lancers, their season comes to an end with an overall record of 10-12-4.

Westfield's depth was on display in the elimination game as the Owls fourth line delivered the first two goals of the game to stake a 2-0 advantage.

After a slow start to the first period with just two shots on goal for Westfield in the opening ten minutes, Colin Roe (Boston, Mass.) won an attacking zone draw, eventually wristing a shot towards the goal which was blocked by a Lancers defender. The puck fell to the skates of Liam Krupcyznski (San Marcos, Calif.) who controlled then flipped a backhand pass to Coppola lurking on the post where he tapped home the puck for a 1-0 lead.

The Owls delivered a back-breaking goal in the final minutes of the second period to double their lead with Coppola initiating the scoring chance this time. He gathered the puck in the defensive end, then flipped the puck up ice between a pair of Worcester defenders resulting in a collision between the two and allowing a breakaway chance for Krupcyznski. Alone with Lancers netminder Donovan Alfama, Krupcyznski stickhandled from backhand to forehand before guiding a high shot over the glove of Alfama and into the cage, sending Westfield to a 2-0 lead into the second intermission.

Westfield put the game away with a quick goal out of the intermission as Jackson Gruber (Toronto, Ontario) deposited the loose puck in the crease on a shot from Emile Tremblay (Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec) to push the lead to 3-0 with 17:47 remaining in regulation.

The Lancers pulled Alfama from the net with 4:22 left in the game in search of three goals. With the Lancers in the Owls zone, Cooper Board (Salem, Mass.) pressured the point man, sweeping the puck into the neutral zone before winning a race to the puck and drawing a tripping penalty from behind with the open net. He was awarded the goal since he was alone behind the defense with an empty net.

The goal horn sounded one final time with 2:21 to go, this time with Cannon Bonifay (Fort Worth, Texas) burying the fifth goal of the night on a second effort chance off a rebound. Bonifay's goal served as the third goal potted by an Owls first-year player on the night.

Aiden Winslow (Jacksonville, Fla.) had a strong opening 20 minutes for the Owls, stopping all 14 shots on goal including a dangerous chance at the back post by Collin Tunnera with under a minute left in the period as Winslow made a post-to-post stop on a crossing feed. He continued his sound play to the final buzzer, stopping all 32 shots faced to lock up the shutout effort, his second time blanking his opponent in the last three starts in net.

Alfama made several point-blank stops on the Owls to keep it a one-goal deficit after one which included a pair of saves on shots from the low slot by Emile Tremblay and Roe in a 30 second span. Alfama made another strong stop early in the second period to temporarily keep the Lancers down a goal, sprawling to his left to save a shot from Bonifay.

Westfield committed the first penalty of the contest with 11:17 left in the second period, but did a sound job killing the penalty with Board causing havoc in the first minute of the penalty kill, generating three shots, one of which was backhanded on net to force Alfama to make a save. The Lancers settled into shape with about 50 seconds left on the power play, getting two shots on net with Winslow stopping both to keep the opposition off the scoreboard.

The Owls held a slim 34-32 shots edge in the game, but limited the Lancers to fewer shots as the game progressed, including eight in the final frame. Alfama made 29 saves for Worcester. Both teams remained discipline throughout the night with both sides committing just one penalty.

In the other MASCAC semifinal matchup, fifth-seeded MCLA defeated fourth-seeded Salem State 3-2 and will face Anna Maria in a semifinal game on Saturday. Winners from the two semifinals will advance to the conference championship game on Saturday, March 7 at the highest seed left.