FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - The Westfield State University men's ice hockey team won their fourth game in a row, defeating Framingham State 4-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action Saturday night at Loring Arena.
The Owls took advantage of a Ram penalty to score the first goal of the game just eight seconds into the power play. Senior Aaron Clancy (Quincy, Mass.) scored off of feeds from Lenny Caglianone (Matawan, NJ) and F.X. Girard (St. Lazare, Quebec) to put the Owls up 1-0.
The Rams tied the game in the opening minutes of the second period. Junior Jack Sheehan (Norwood, Mass.) scored off feeds from freshman Chris Rupp (Denville, NJ) and freshman Alex Groner (Clifton, VA) just 1:38 into the second to tie the game at 1-1.
The Owls took the lead back just over six minutes later when Danny Ferri (Chelmsford, Mass.) sent a pass up ice to junior Pearce Vance (Berkley, MI) fired a shot inside the post for the 2-1 lead.
Framingham tied the game again with a power play goal with 2:29 remaining in the second. Junior Brendan Williams (Richmond, VA) sent the puck on net which was redirected in front by Soren Colstrup (Owatonna, MN) and Michael Gennello (East Windsor, NJ) before senior Ryan McDonough (Dorchester, Mass.) knocked the puck home.
The Owls retook the lead just over a minute into the third period as Jake Ratcliffe (Jacksonville, FL) converted off assists from Paul Frys (Portland, Oreg.) and Wyatt Trumbley (Campbell River, B.C.)
Westfield State added an insurance goal with just under five minutes remaining the third pushing the lead to 4-2. Senior Johnny Orlando (Georgetown, Mass.) tallied the short-handed marker off an assist from Robert Neuwirth.
Junior Greg Harney (East Haven, Conn.) took the loss in net for the Rams and made 30 saves, while junior Thierry Messervier (Monteal, Quebec) earned the victory between the pipes for the Owls and made 28 stops.
With the win, the Owls improve to 4-3 in the MASCAC (7-5-2 overall), while Framingham drops to 0-7-1 in the conference (2-11-1 overall).
The Owls continue MASCAC play as they take on Umass. Dartmouth on Tuesday afternoon at 1:35. The game is the rescheduled match from November 15th, where it was postponed due to inclimate weather.