WORCESTER, Mass.- The Westfield State University men's ice hockey team skated to a 2-2 on Saturday night in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup against Worcester State.
The Lancers fought a defensive battle in the first period. Both teams skated evenly during the 20 minute period with Worcester State recording nine shots and the Owls grabbing eight. At the 16:11 mark Josh Boulos (Burlington, Mass.) put the Owls up 1-0. He was assisted by Aaron Clancy (Quincy, Mass.) and Dylan Gatto (Jacksonville, Fla.).
Worcester State skated into the second period strong and tied the game at the 5:05 mark. Jake Karelas (Melrose, Mass.) sent one past the Westfield State goaltender to even the score at 1-1.
Later in the period, Westfield State grabbed the lead for the second time of the night about nine minutes later when they capitalized on a power play goal. Lenny Caglianone (Matawan, N.J.) sent a pass behind the net to Jake Ratcliffe (Canterbury, New Zealand) who set Francois-Xavier Girard (St Lazare, Quebec) up for the goal to give the Owls a 2-1 lead.
In the third, Matthew Manning (Novi, Mich.) grabbed his game tying goal 14 seconds after the power play began. Henry Bruckner (Franklin, Mass.) and Mitch Purdie (Peterborough, Ontario) were credited with the assist to even the game at 2-2.
Overtime saw four shots for each team, but neither one could capitalize on the efforts.
With the tie, the Owls move to 8-6-3 (5-4-1, MASCAC). The Lancers move to 9-6-1 (5-4-1, MASCAC).
Worcester State goaltender, Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills, Calif.) grabbed 27 saves in the tie. Thierry Messervier (Montreal, Quebec) tallied 41 saves on the night.
Next up, the Lancers will host University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Thursday night. The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. The Owls will host Fitchburg State the same night.