Westfield, Mass.- The Westfield State University men's ice hockey team will face off against Plymouth State on Tuesday, February 15, in a rescheduled contest from earlier this season at 1:25 at Amelia Park Ice Arena in Westfield, Mass.
The Owls are fresh off a conference win against the Framingham State Rams, where a late surge of offense carried them back from a 3-1 deficit to a 6-3 victory. The scoring was distributed among six different Owls, and sophomore defenseman Tom Sköld (Jarna, Sweden) was the main facilitator for Westfield, assisting on three out of six goals.
The win improves Westfield's record to 11-9-2 overall and 6-7-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, where they now sit one game out of third place behind UMass Dartmouth
The Plymouth State Panthers are on an impressive seven game win streak, with an overall record of 15-4-2, 12-1-2 in the conference, as they lie in second place in MASCAC competition. They are led by junior forward Myles Abbate and graduate student J.R. Barone, each with 14 goals throughout the year.
Keys for Success
Limit Penalty Minutes: For the Owls to continue their winning streak, keeping five men on the ice is a vital factor. Plymouth's top two goal scorers have scored almost half of their goals while on the man advantage (6-14). Westfield played a clean game against Framingham, only drawing four whistles through 60 minutes.
Offensive Pressure- The Owls launched a season high 61 shots last Saturday, and senior Chuck Costello (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the charge with eight shots of his own. Repeating that volume of shots would position the Owls nicely against the two seed Panthers, who have had strong play from their goalies all year long.
Limit the Fast Break: Two out of the three goals that Westfield allowed on Saturday came on odd-man rush opportunities. It will be pivotal for them to limit these fast breaks, especially with the talent of Plymouth's starting forwards. Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) should be slated for the start in goal (2.84 GAA) for the Owls, after Tyler Shugrue (San Diego, California) got the nod and the victory on senior night vs Framingham.
This matchup is a momentous contest for the Owls, as a win could propel them to third in the league's standings. Their next contest takes place February 17th vs Fitchburg at Amelia Park, followed by a road tilt to cap off the regular season at UMass Dartmouth on Saturday the 19th, two crucial conference competitions.
- Written by Evan Levrault, Sports Information Intern