WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State men's ice hockey team was picked to finish in sixth place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Poll as voted on by the coaches throughout the league.

The Owls earned a total of 25 points in the rankings. Plymouth State earned the top spot in search of a seventh-straight MASCAC title, receiving seven first-place and totaling 49 points. Fitchburg State received one first-place vote and collected 40 points.

Westfield finished last year with an overall record of 11-14-2 and a 6-11 mark in the MASCAC, good enough for the fourth seed in the MASCAC Tournament. The Owls defeated fifth-seeded UMass Dartmouth 5-3 in the conference quarterfinals before falling in the MASCAC semifinals against top-seeded, and #10-nationally ranked Plymouth State.

The Owls return their top goal scorer and netminder for the 2023-24 season in Cooper Board (Salem, Mass.) and Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland).

Board is entering his sophomore season and will look to build upon an impressive rookie campaign where he led the Owls in goals (15) and total points (22). His 15 goals was tied for second-most in the MASCAC.

Valtonen is a senior goalie who has had consistent success with the Owls. The veteran has been named to the MASCAC All-Conference Second Team twice in his two seasons with the team, piling up 918 saves with a .926 save percentage in the 2022-23 season. The Finish netminder was busy in net throughout the season, racking up nine 40+ save efforts, including both postseason games.

Westfield State begins the regular season at home against Post University on day one of the Western Massachusetts Invitational Tournament on Friday, October 27 at 7:35 P.M. from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass.