Owls Seize Control of Second Period to Drop Raiders, 4-1

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Four different Owls found the back of the net as Westfield State used a three-goal second period to defeat Rivier University 4-1 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference bout from Nashua, New Hampshire on Saturday evening.

The Owls secure consecutive conference victories to start the 2025 portion of the schedule, improving to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in the MASCAC. The Raiders plummet to 4-8-1 on the season and 0-5-1 in conference action.

Similar to the Owls victory at Framingham on Thursday night, Westfield used the middle period to separate themselves from their opponent.

After a scoreless first period, first-year forward Louis Ouellet (Baie-Comeau, Quebec) got the scoring started for the Owls 1:28 into the second. Christopher Miraldo (Montreal, Quebec) initiated the breakout, chipping the puck from the red line into the offensive zone, getting to the puck first before kicking a centering pass to Julian Boisclair (Voorhees, N.J.). Boisclair settled the pass and fed the puck through the top of the crease to Ouellet who one-timed home a shot into the net for a 1-0 Owls lead.

With 10:30 to play in the period, the Owls doubled their lead starting with Daniel Finegan (Chicago, Ill.) who rattled the puck along the boards to the far side of the zone where Emile Tremblay (Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec) was first to the puck. Tremblay then skated towards the net, dropping off a pass to a crashing Brett Williams (Easton, Mass.) in the low slot who ripped a near-side shot over the shoulder of Rivier goalkeeper LJ Newell (Littleton, Colo.) for the two-goal advantage.

Tremblay picked up his second point of the night later in the period, tallying the Owls third goal of the period after a great setup from Williams and Nicolas Coppola (Glendale, Ariz.) on a three-on-two Owls entry into the zone, resulting in a tip-in finish from Tremblay on the doorstep of the crease.

Westfield's special teams helped close out the contest in the third period, as Miraldo registered his team-leading eighth goal of the season on the power play, wristing a shot from the left face-off dot and into the goal to boost the Owls lead to four goals with 16:36 remaining in the game. Miraldo has gotten off to a hot start in the year 2025, totaling six points (three goals, three assists) across the Owls last two games.

Owls goalie Aiden Winslow (Jacksonville, Fla.) saw an increased volume of shots after the Miraldo tally, including a four-on-two entry for Rivier which ended in a save from Winslow. Less than two minutes later, the Owls found themselves shorthanded and managed to kill the penalty while allowing just one shot on net that was saved by Winslow.

Seconds after the kill, on Rivier's 27^th shot of the game, Damon Kiyawasew (Sherwood Park, Alberta) beat Winslow to the top-left corner of the net on what would be the lone blemish on the stat sheet for the Owls first-year netminder. The Owls maintained a slight edge in shots at 40-37 and in the face-off circle (55%).

Winslow has been sharp between the pipes over his last four games, allowing just one goal in three of those four games. From the Owls wins over Framingham and Rivier this week, Winslow has racked up 94 saves for a pristine 0.954 save percentage.

Westfield State will return home for their first game at Amelia Park Arena since December 5 as the Owls host Salem State in a conference game on Thursday at 2:00 P.M.