Late Tally Bites Owls In 4-3 Loss To Worcester

Paul Frys halts to a stop in the 4-3 loss to Worcester
Paul Frys halts to a stop in the 4-3 loss to Worcester

WESTFIELD, Mass.  – Worcester State University senior Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.) notched the game-winner with three seconds remaining as Worcester State defeated Westfield State 4-3 in MASCAC play on Thursday night at Amelia Park.

With just under ten seconds remaining, Moran took a long stretch pass from linemate Matthew Manning, glided past the Owl defender, and put a snap shot by Thierry Messervier (Montreal, Quebec) for the game-winning tally with only three seconds left in the contest.

Moran finished with a goal and two assists on the night, as he continued to climb the ranks in scoring for the Lancers.

The timely goal gave Worcester State the victory and upped their MASCAC record to an even 7-7-1, keeping them in the fifth place slot in the conference.

The loss gave Westfield State only their second loss of the new year, dropping their conference record to 10-5-1. The Owls are now tied with UMass Dartmouth for second place in the MASCAC, with one game in hand and two games remaining.

The Owls got on the board first with an unusual tally from Aaron Clancy (Quincy, Mass.). Freshman defenseman Josh Boulos (Burlington, Mass.) sent what seemed to be a normal dump-and-change into the zone, but goaltender Ryan Hoff (Brockton, Mass.) had a mishap while trying to play the puck, leading to Clancy firing it into the empty net for the 1-0 lead.

But the Lancers would respond with a five-hole goal off a 2-on-1 from Cody Weaver (West Greenwich, R.I.) and then another from Matthew Manning (Novi, MI) on the power-play with just under a minute remaining to give Worcester to 2-1 lead at the end of the first.

After the Owls answered back about midway through the second with a beautiful wrist shot from Francois-Xavier Girard (St. Lazare, Quebec) to tie the game, Weaver would blast home his second of the game, this time from the point and on the power-play to put the Lancers on top again, 3-2.

Westfield State would answer back yet again with a breakaway goal from Paul Frys (Portland, Orgeon) late in the third to tie the game with 3:31 remaining, but Moran would deliver the knockout punch a little over three minutes later.

The Lancers outshot the Owls 33-30 in the contest. Worcester State was 3-7 on the power-play while the Owls were goal-less, going 0-3.

Worcester travels to UMass Dartmouth on Saturday to take on the Corsairs in an important MASCAC matchup beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Westfield State will be on the road to take on Fitchburg State in a game that could have large bearings on the MASCAC playoff picture. Action will begin at 4:00 p.m.