WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State University freshman Jake Ratcliffe (Canterbury, New Zealand) recorded his first collegiate hat-trick as the Owls defeated Framingham State 6-0 in MASCAC play on Thursday night at Amelia Park Ice Arena.
Ratcliffe tallied his 10th, 11th, and 12th goals of the season, reclaiming his spot as the Owls top goal scorer.
Goaltender Thierry Messervier (Montreal, Quebec) notched his third shutout of the season, making 28 saves in the process.
Freshman Justin Collins (Wilmington, Mass.) got things started for the Owls after he snapped home a wrister on a breakaway to give Westfield State the lead early in the first.
Westfield State added to their lead when Jake Ratcliffe slapped home his 10th of the season off a one-time pass from Justin Alves (Woburn, Mass.) to extend the Owl lead, 2-0.
The second period was all Westfield State as they Owls outshot the Rams 22-7 and tacked on two more goals to extend the lead to 4-0. The first goal of the period came from Tristan Theriot (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and the second from Lenny Caglianone (Matawan, N.J.) who deked past two defenders and lifted a backhander past Rams goaltender Greg Harney (East, Haven, Conn.).
Ratcliffe would tack on two more in the third to complete the hat trick and secure the Owls' 6-0 victory.
Westfield outshot Framingham 47-28 in the game. Harney finshed with 41 saves for the Rams.
With the win, Westfield State improves to 12-6-3 (9-4-1 MASCAC), while the Rams drop to 2-18-1 (0-13-1).
Framingham resumes play Tuesday finishing the remainder of the postponed Worcester State game from February 2nd. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:55 p.m.
The Owls return to play Saturday as they host UMass. Dartmouth for senior night, puck drop scheduled for 5:35 p.m. As a part of the senior day festivities, the Westfield State Hockey Alumni Game will be held earlier in the day at 3:00 p.m.