Westfield, Mass.- The Westfield State University men's hockey team hosts Fitchburg State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Thursday, February 17, at Amelia Park Ice Arena.

The Owls now sit in third place in the MASCAC after a huge 4-2 win over the 2^nd seed Plymouth State on Tuesday. With an overall record of 12-9-2 (7-7-2 MASCAC), they now have a chance to put a chip in the armor of the top seeded Fitchburg State Falcons in their last home game of the regular season.

Fitchburg enters the game with an overall record of 16-5, 13-3 in the MASCAC, and have won their last five.

Westfield has won four of their last five, with an average margin of victory of 2.5 goals.

They will look to keep feeding the red-hot stick of Joseph Carbone (Marshfield, Mass.), who has scored five goals over his last five games to propel him as the leading goal scorer on the team with nine.

Along with Carbone, the Owls have had seven different players light the lamp in their last three games. Puck movement will be a huge factor against Fitchburg, who are allowing just under two goals per game in conference play (1.99).

Westfield will also lean on their defense in this one after a stellar performance against Plymouth. In the last minute, blue jerseys were flying around the defensive zone, blocking three shots in the final 1:30 to preserve the win. 

Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) continues to play lights out, making 39 saves on 41 shots in his last outing. Backed by a defense that has been creating lots of turnovers translating to offensive opportunity, Valtonen looks to secure his 10^th win of the year over Fitchburg.

The Falcons are led by junior forward Hunter Fortin (Westerville, Ohio), who has recorded 13 goals and 13 assists over the Falcon's 21 games. One of their main playmakers has been Rece Bergeman (Newark, Del.), who is the team leader in assists with 15. The Falcons average 3.71 goals per game while allowing just 32 goals in 16 conference games, the fewest in MASCAC play.

Westfield will close out their regular season with a tilt at UMass Dartmouth's Hetland Arena on Saturday, February 19^th, at 3:00.

- Evan Levrault, sports info intern.