WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State University ice hockey team's season came to a conclusion against top-seeded and nationally-ranked #13 Plymouth State, losing a 5-1 decision in the MASCAC Semifinals from Hanaway Rink in Plymouth, N.H. on Saturday evening.
The Owls finish the 2023-24 campaign with an overall record of 13-12-2. Plymouth State advances to the conference championship game in search of their fifth-straight MASCAC title.
In the last meeting between the two teams, Westfield jumped on Plymouth, scoring three goals in the opening period, eventually holding on for the victory. This time, it was the Panthers that blitzed the Owls for three first-period goals.
Patrick O'Connell (West Chester, Pa.) began the scoring just over the halfway point of the period, wristing a shot past Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Plymouth then capitalized on their first power play opportunity of the contest, with Payton Schaly (Orillia, Ontario) connecting for the Panthers second goal to double the lead.
Just 18 seconds after the man-advantage tally, Anton Jellvik (Taby, Sweden) got in the scoring column as the Panthers entered the first intermission with a three-goal lead.
The Owls were resilient throughout the night and quickly chipped away at the deficit. Christopher Miraldo (Montreal, Quebec) won a puck battle in the neutral zone and fed a pass to Emile Pichette (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) who skated into the offensive end and centered a pass just outside the blue crease where Gianluca Marini (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) tipped home his eighth goal of the year to make it a 3-1 contest.
Westfield had several additional opportunities to close the gap further, including a two-on-one look that ended on the tape of Ryan Moorhouse (Westfield, Mass.) who's shot was alertly stopped by Kalle Andersson (Taby, Sweden) who batted aside 14 of 15 shots faced in a busy frame.
With the game remaining at 3-1, the Owls were given a powerplay opportunity late in the period and had multiple chances including a one-timer from Raphael Seguin (Saint-Lazare, Quebec) that was snatched by the glove of Andersson. Another sharp angle shot later in the man-advantage chance by Brett Williams (Easton, Mass.) was also clubbed away by Andersson, keeping the game at 3-1 entering the final frame. The Panthers blocked three shots during the penalty kill as well.
Special team's effectiveness played a pivotal role in finalizing the outcome of the game as the Panthers tacked on a pair of powerplay markers to extend their lead, finishing 3-5 on the man-advantage while the Owls were held scoreless on three chances of their own.
Andersson (W, 19-2-2) was sharp in net throughout the night, registering 35 saves for the Panthers. Valtonen (L, 8-8-1) got the start in net for the Owls, recording seven saves before Kevin Chandler (Hanover, Mass.) took over in the later portions of the first period, collecting 31 saves.