Posted: Feb 24, 2018
WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Westfield State's ice hockey season came to an end on Saturday evening with a heartbreaking 5-4 loss in overtime as the fifth-seeded Owls fell to fourth-seed UMass Dartmouth in the opening round of the MASCAC playoffs at Hetland Arena in New Bedford, Mass.
UMass-Dartmouth got the game winner on a 2-on-0 rush 13 minutes into overtime. Westfield State goaltender Kameron Limburg stopped the initial blast from his left side, but the rebound popped directly on to the stick of Kai Kapossy on the other side who buried the game winner into the open side of the net.
Westfield had staved off elimination about a minute and a half earlier as the Corsairs had an apparent game-winning goal waved off for a high stick in the crease.
Westfield got a pair of goals from F.X. Girard. Girard gave the Owls a 3-2 lead with a rush up the left side of the ice and fired a wrister top-shelf from the face off spot.
After a pair of UMD goals, Girard helped force the overtime 12:39 into the third period, as he delivered nearly a carbon copy of his earlier goal, this time rushing the puck up the right side and unloaded another wicked wrister to tie the score at 4-4.
Westfield withstood a final flurry from the Corsairs in the final seconds of regulation, with Wyatt Trumbley sliding to block a shot on a 2-on-1 attack, and Limburg turned away several follow up attempts as time expired.
Limburg made 33 saves for the Owls, while Drew Michals turned aside 29 shots for the Corsairs.
Nik Passero and Adam Blackman netted Westfield's first two goals of the night. Jonathan Ruiz finished with pair of goals for UMass Dartmouth. The Corsairs advance to the MASCAC semifinals to face top-seeded Plymouth State on Tuesday.
Westfield wraps up its season with a 10-14-1 overall record.