Season Awards

Westfield, MA --- The Westfield State University club hockey team held their annual end of the season banquet on Tuesday evening at Amelia Park. During the dinner, the team announced that Greg Rice will be the captain for the 2012-13 season. Alternative captains will be announced at a later date. The following awards were also handed out:

Best Defenseman- Rob Collins
Best Forward- Joey Green
Coaches Award - David Russo
MVP - Tommy Bruso.

The Owls will learn more information about the upcoming season at the annual spring NECHA meeting on April 21st at Daniel Webster College. Again, the Owls hope that everyone has a fun and safe summer.

THANK YOU FANS!

Westfield, MA --- The Westfield State Owls club hockey team would like to thank all of their fans for their support throughout the 2011-12 season. We would also like to wish the seniors good luck as they graduate in the Spring. Finally, we would like to thank Doc for everything that he has done throughout the years to make the Westfield State club hockey program not only the best organization on campus but the best in the ACHA league.

We hope that everyone has a great off season and remind everyone that there's only 6 more months until training camp!

Owls Fall In Overtime 4-3

Nashua, NH --- After playing 18 regular season games and 2 playoff games, Westfield State's season would come down to the next goal. The Westfield State Owls lost to the defending champions MIT Engineers 4-3 in overtime on Sunday afternoon. MIT would jump out to a 3-0 lead midway through the first period. The Engineers got their first goal from Gabe Blanchet whose shot from the point beat Chase Thornton to give MIT a 1-0 lead with 12:38 left in the first period. After the goal, MIT kept the pressure in the Owls zone and two minutes later Adam Vickerman gave the Engineers a two goal lead. The Engineers would increase their lead to 3-0 on a power play goal by Gabe Blanchet. After the third goal, Nick Franco came in relief and would hold the Engineers scoreless for the rest of regulation. Defenseman, Ryan Laughlin, would get the Owls on the board with 17 seconds remaining in the first period beating MIT's goaltender Jenna Klein.

The Owls dominated the second period and would make the game 3-2 when Joey Green scored with 4:22 remaining in the period. Anthony Hardy would pick up the assist on the goal. Captain, Tommy Bruso tied the game 3-3 only 17 seconds later when he skated by a MIT defenseman and beat Klein glove side. The two teams would head to overtime after skating a scoreless third period.

The Owls season would come to an end when Ernest Park poked a loose puck past Franco to give the MIT Engineers the 4-3 win only a minute into the overtime period.

Goals: Laughlin (1), Green (1), Bruso (1)
Assists: Hardy (2), Green (1)
Power Play: 0 for 4 (0%)
Penalty Kill: 1 for 2 (50%)

Championship Game: Sunday at 2:50

Westfield, MA --- The Westfield State University Owls will play the MIT Engineers in the NECHA American Conference Finals on Sunday at 2:50 p.m. The game will be played at Conway Arena in Nashua, NH. This will be the third meeting this season between the two clubs. The two teams last met on January 15th in Westfield with the Owls falling 6-5 in overtime. The Owls reached the championship game by defeating Bridgewater State last night 6-5. After trailing 2-0, MIT fought back to beat Bates 4-3.

You can get game updates by following the club's twitter account @wsuclub.

Owls Advance to Championship

Nashua, NH --- The Westfield State Owls defeated the Bridgewater State Bears 6-5 in a wild game that came down to the last minute. The Owls would get on the board first when Peter Richardson's centering pass deflected off a defender and into the back of the net only 4:11 into the first period. The lead would not last long and Bridgewater would tie the game only 4 minutes later. Bridgewater would take the lead on a Josh Sircar goal with 3:28 remaining in the first period. With 2:22 remaining in the first, Will Keating would find Joey Green on the back door to send the two teams tied at 2 goals a piece heading into the second period.

Bridgewater State would once again take the lead at 12:03 when Craig McKinnon's shot beat Owls netminder Nick Franco. A minute later, the Owls would strike on the power play when Brian Nixon found Brett Salamon alone on the far post to tie the game 3-3.

Midway through the third period, Josh Sircar would score his second goal of the game on the power play to give the Bears a 4-3 lead with 11:52 remaining in the game. The Owls would once again tie the game with an unassisted goal by Senior defenseman Corey Tobin with 3:45 left in the period. Joe Gaughan would give the Bears a 5-4 lead only 34 seconds later when he found a loose puck in a scramble in front of the net and put it into the back of the net. The Bears thought that they had their first 2 goal lead of the game just a few seconds later but the goal was disallowed because of a crease violation and the Owls still had hope with under 3 minutes left in regulation. Captain, Tommy Bruso would tie the game 5-5 with 2:22 remaining with Ryan Leonard picking up the lone assist on the goal. Assistant captain, Corey Tobin, was on the receiving end of a high elbow with 1:32 remaining to put the Owls on the power play. Tommy Bruso would score his second goal of the night with 37 seconds remaining in the game with the man advantage to put the Owls up 6-5. The Owls would hold on to win 6-5 and advance to the championship game.

The Owls will play the winner of Bates and MIT on Sunday at 2:50 pm at Conway Arena in Nashua, NH. This will be the Owls first appearance in the championship game since 2006 when they won the NECHA playoffs. Please check back to see who the Owls will be playing by following the team's twitter account @wsuclub.

Key StatsGoals: Richardson(1) , Green(1), Salamon (1), Tobin (1), Bruso (2)
Assists: Russo(1), Keating (1), Hardy (1), Nixon (1), Laughlin (1), Leonard (2), Green (1)
Win: Franco (1)
Power Play: 2 for 6 (33%)
Penalty Kill: 3 for 4 (75%)

Owls Play Bears in Semi-Finals Tonight!

Westfield, MA --- The Westfield State University Owls will play the Bridgewater State Bears at Conway Arena in Nashua, NH in the first round of the NECHA playoffs. The first puck drop is scheduled for 5:40. This will be the third match up between the two teams this season with Westfield recording 6-4 and 5-3 victories over their state university rivals. You can get game updates by following the team's twitter account @wsuclub.

Owls Finish Regular Season at Merrimack

Westfield, MA --- The Owls conclude their regular season schedule on Friday night when they travel to North Andover to play Merrimack College. This game was originally schedule for 8:30 PM but has been pushed back to 9:00 PM. The two teams last met in the Owls home opener on October 15th with the Owls defeating the Warriors 2-1. You can get game updates by following the team's twitter account @wsuclub.

American Conference Games (2/10-2/12)
Westfield State @ Merrimack (FRI)
Harvard @ MIT (SAT)
Bates @ Bridgewater State (SUN)
MIT @ Sacred Heart (SUN)