Hockey Bests Franklin Pierce 4-1

F.X. Girard carries the puck
F.X. Girard carries the puck

WINCHENDON, Mass.  – The Westfield State University men's ice hockey team defeated Franklin Pierce by a score of 4-1 in a non-conference matchup Tuesday night at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena.

Junior Samuel Gagnon got the scoring started for the Owls midway through the first when he blasted a shot past Raven goaltender Ian Wallace (West Islip, N.Y.) off a 2-on-1 to make it 1-0 Westfield State.

Moments later, Francois-Xavier Girard (St. Lazare, Quebec) threw a wrist shot on goal that found its way to the back of the net to make it 2-0 Owls. The Ravens struck back however, with a shorthanded goal from Mark Indelicato (Pembroke, Mass.) to cut the lead in half just before the end of the period.

Senior assistant captain Aaron Clancy (Quincy, Mass.) fired home some insurance early in the second period, ringing a wrist shot of the inside part of the post and into the back of the net to put Westfield State up 3-1.

Justin Alves (Woburn, Mass.) would tack on an empty-netter and secure the 4-1 victory.

With the win, Westfield State improves to 6-5-2, while Franklin Pierce drops to 6-7.

The Owls outshot the Ravens 39-26 in the matchup. Goaltender Thierry Messervier (Montreal, Quebec) made 25 saves for the Owls, while Wallace picked up 35 saves for Franklin Pierce.

Westfield State gets back into conference play on Saturday as they travel to Framingham State to take on the Rams at 7:40 p.m.