WESTFIELD, Mass. – Nicolas Coppola (Glendale, Ari.) opened the scoring just 2:21 into the game and Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) registered 38 saves as the Owls jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on to defeat #15-nationally ranked Plymouth State 3-2 in a MASCAC clash from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass. on Thursday evening.

The Owls secure their first win in team history over a ranked opponent while simultaneously granting the Panthers their first MASCAC loss this season, snapping Plymouth's 39-game unbeaten streak against conference opponents. Before entering the game, the Owls were the last MASCAC team to beat the Panthers on February 15, 2022 with the Owls defending home ice in that contest as well.  

With the win, the Owls move to 12-7-1 on the season and 8-6-1 in the conference. The Panthers pick up just their third loss of the season with Westfield snapping their 12-game winning streak, dropping to 16-2-2 overall and 13-1-2 in the MASCAC.

The Owls opened the first period ferociously as all three of their goals came within the first five minutes of action.

A quick goal from Coppola gave the Owls a 1-0 advantage with 18 minutes to play in the first period. A clearance from Raphael Seguin (Saint-Lazare, Quebec) ricocheted off the right-side boards where Coppola collected it at the center line. Coppola then took the puck, and skated past a Panthers defender where he slapped a shot from the top of the right face-off circle, skimming its way, low and to the left post past Panthers goalkeeper Kalle Andersson (Stockholm, Sweden).

A minute later, a goal from Brett Williams (Easton, Mass.) put the Owls up 2-0. Daniel Finegan (Chicago, Ill.) sent the puck up ice from the Owls' neutral line to the stick of a cutting Williams. Williams picked up the puck towards the right side of center ice as he was skating across. As two Plymouth State defenders closed in on him, Williams ripped a one-time shot from the top of the two penalty circles to double the lead.

Less than a minute later, Ryan O'Halloran (Burlington, Mass.) tallied the last goal of the night for the Owls. Julian Boisclair (Voorhees, N.J.) controlled the puck out of a battle in the corner and then found the stick of Cooper Board (Salem, Mass.) who waited for the puck at the red center line. Board took the puck up the ice to the right sided penalty circle. A diving Panthers defender blocked his shot but Board was able to pass it to the left of the defender where he hit a crashing O'Halloran. The puck landed in front of the stick of O'Halloran who one-timed the shot over the diving Andersson.

After the last goal by the Owls, the Panthers quickly called a timeout. From the timeout and onwards, the Panthers outshot the Owls, ending the night out shooting them 40-14.

The Panthers were not willing to go away so easily. In the second period, the Panthers were able to rattle off 16 shots on Valtonen. Ethan Stuckless (Conception Bay South, Newfoundland) scored the Panthers' first goal of the night on a power play with four minutes remaining in the second period. The Panthers were able to take advantage of the shorthanded Owls as a pass from Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) who sat waiting at the right face-off circle, went across the crease and hit the stick of Connor Tait (Boyds, MD). From the left side face-off circle, Tait was able to find Stuckless who was waiting by the right-side post. The shot from Stuckless snuck the puck in between the post and Valtonen's pads.

With three minutes to go in the second, the Panthers were granted another power-play opportunity. The Panthers maintained pressure on the Owls as a wide-open Reddick scored from the right side face-off circle. Reddick's goal was his second point of the game.

The second period ended with the score being 3-2 in favor of the Owls.

Neither side was able to score in the final period with Valtonen protecting the net well as he stopped all 12 shots faced in the period to secure the victory for the Owls, picking up his seventh win of the year. For the Panthers, Andersson made a total of 11 saves as his record fell to 14-2-1.

Westfield State will look to carry their momentum into this weekend as the Owls travel to Worcester State on Saturday at 6:30 P.M. The next game for the Panthers is away on Saturday February 3 at 5:30 P.M. at MCLA.

Written by Jordan Aguiar – WSU Sports Information Intern