Owls Travel To Trinity & Roger Williams This Weekend

Westfield, MA -- The Owls will be on the road for two games this weekend before they head off for Thanksgiving break. Saturday's game at Trinity has been pushed back to an 8:45 pm start. Westfield will then travel on Sunday to Fall River to take on Roger Williams in a conference match for second place.  

TRINITY COLLEGE

Koeppel Community Sports Center

175 New Britain Ave 

Hartford, CT 06114

ROGER WILLIAMS

Driscoll Arena 
272 Elsbree Street
Fall River, MA 02720

Westfield 4 - Sacred Heart 2

Bridgeport, CT -- Westfield State improved their conference record to .500 and jumped into a three way tie for second place in the American Conference with a 4-2 win over Sacred Heart University on Friday night. Zach Vatcher gave the Owls a 1-0 lead midway through the first period as his shot from the slot beat Pioneers netminder Brandon Rozzi. The Owls looked to extend their lead with the man advantage but a blocked shot led to a short-handed goal to tie the game. With time expiring in the first period, Joe Almeida would give the Owls the lead when he converted on a two on one opportunity. 

Westfield would get a short-handed goal of their own to make it a 3-1 game. After a blocked shot, Kris Houda was off to the races and banked home his own rebound for his third goal of the season. Chase Thornton stood tall in net, making several nice saves to preserve the lead going into the final period. 

Sacred Heart was able to catch a lucky break with 5:11 remaining in the game. The Pioneers kept the puck alive in their offensive zone. A defenseman threw the puck towards the front and went off a forwards shin guard towards the net. The forward in front hacked through Thornton's pads and it was a one goal game. The two teams exchanged power play opportunities in the closing minutes before Schyler Reilly added an empty netter to seal the 4-2 victory for Westfield. 

Westfield returns to action on Saturday night as they travel to Trinity College. Last week, the two teams combined for 14 goals in a back and forth game. On Sunday, the Owls have a quick turnaround as they play at Roger Williams at 11:30 AM. 

Goals: Vatcher (2), Almeida (2), Houda (3), Reilly (6)
Goalie: Thornton, 39 Saves (4-6-0)
Power Play: 0 for 5 (11%)
Penalty Kill: 8 for 8 (85%)

Owls Raise Over $800 In Fundraising Game

Westfield, MA --- On Wednesday afternoon the Westfield State club hockey team played their third annual Veteran's Day game against Norwich University. This year's fundraiser was for Major Glenn "Chugs" Milliken who is a local pilot at Barnes that is battling cancer. Between ticket sales, donations and raffle items, the team was able to raise over $800 to give to "Chugs" through the Check-6 Foundation. Before the game, the colors were presented by the VFW State Honor Guard and Col. James Keefe dropped the ceremonial puck drop. Col. Keefe was joined by Harrison, Glenn's son. 

Norwich University would score a power play goal with 3:46 remaining in the first period. The two teams battled back and forth during the second period but neither team was able to score a goal. In the third, the intensity and the checking started to pick up with a few big hits. Norwich would add an insurance goal with 3:21 in the game to get the 2-0 victory. Chase Thornton was strong in net making several big saves in the third to keep the Owls within striking distance.

Westfield heads to Bridgeport, CT on Friday to face Sacred Heart University. Game is at 8 pm and is being played at the Wonderland of Ice. It will be a battle for second place in the American Conference's Southwest Division. 

Game Sheet: 11/11/2015 vs. Norwich University

Goals: None

Power Play: 0 for 3 (14%)

Penalty Kill: 5 for 6 (83%)

Reilly's Hat Trick Leads Owls To 8-6 Win Over Trinity College

Westfield, MA --- It was a back and forth game as the Owls picked up their second win in as many days as they defeated Trinity 8-6. Nate Maillet would pick up his first collegiate win in his first start, stopping 33 of 39 shots. Westfield would jump out to a 2-0 lead with goals by Mark Eagles and Schyler Reilly. However, Ben Barton would score two goals in the final five minutes of the period to even the score heading into the second period. 

The Owls would regain their two goal lead as they came out flying in the second. Schyler Reilly would score his second of the night only 1:38 into the period. Connor Sweeney would skate in on a three on one and snipe a shot past Travis Gubernick. Midway through the game, the Bantams would strike twice in two minutes to tie the game at 4-4. At 11:55, Schyler Reilly would complete the hat trick as he was set up all alone after a turnover at the blue line. With 2:55 remaining in the second, it appeared that Trinity College once again tied the game. Play went on two minutes without a whistle. Once the play stopped, the officials met at center ice to discuss the play. The two trailing officials, both believed that the puck went in and out because of the newly strung net. Time was put back on the clock and the game was tied 5-5. Zach Vatcher, playing an offensive shift, would get his first goal of the season as he crashed the net on a Brian Bassett shot giving the Owls a 6-5 lead. 

In  the third, Trinity would score a short-handed goal with 3:24 remaining in regulation. However, the Owls did not need overtime as they scored another late goal with 1:42 remaining as Danny Hamilton scored his first collegiate goal. Joe Santaniello would add an empty netter with eight seconds left in the game.

Westfield State returns to action on Wednesday as they host their third annual Veteran's Day game. Their opponent will be Norwich University and will have a special 2:00 pm face off. This is a fundraising game and Westfield passes or season tickets will not be accepted. 100% of ticket sales and raffles will go to Glenn "Chugs" Milliken and the Check-6 Foundation. For more information, please check our flyer on the Veteran's Day tab. 

Game Sheet: 11/7/15 vs. Trinity College

Goals: Eagles (1), Reilly (3,4,5), Sweeney (4), Vatcher (1), Hamilton (1), Santaniello (5)

Goalie: Maillet, 33 Saves - (1-0-0)

Power Play: 1 for 3 (15%)

Penalty Kill: 1 for 2 (83%) 

Westfield Scores Twice In Final Minute To Beat #13 UConn

Bolton, CT - Westfield State University defeated #13 Univ. of Connecticut (A) on Friday night to improve their conference record to 2-3-0. Four minutes into the game, Mike Keating would strike first for the Huskies. The Owls battled back scoring the next three goals in a span of five minutes. Colin Pierce would find Joe Santaniello on a nice two on one to tie the game at 13:14. Two minutes later, Tyler Reopel would find Alex Metropoulos in front of the crease for his first collegiate goal. Colin Pierce would increase the lead to 3-1 as he skated down the right wing side and was able to beat goaltender Zach Phillipson. Clay Sosnowski would score towards the end of the period and the Owls would take a 3-2 lead into the second period. The Huskies would score the only goal in the second period as Ken Kochiss would send the two teams into the locker room tied at three goals apiece. 

University of Connecticut would get their first lead of the game midway through the period. With under a minute left in the game, the Owls would pull their goalie in exchange for an extra attacker. Defenseman, Connor Sweeney, hopped onto the ice and picked up the puck. He skated the length of the ice tying the game with 49 seconds left. With an offensive zone face-off and 15 seconds left in the game, Westfield used their timeout. The Owls won the draw and Colin Pierce threw the puck on net. The puck went up in the air off the goalie and captain Schyler Reilly was there to put home the game winning goal with seven seconds remaining. Westfield and UConn split the season series each scoring seven goals. 

Game Sheet: 11/6/2015 @ Univ. of Connecticut

Goals: Santaniello (4), Metropoulos (1), Pierce (3), Sweeney (3), Reilly (2)

Goaltender: Thornton, 33 Saves - (3-5-0)

Power Play: 1 for 5 (13%)

Penalty Kill: 3 for 3 (84%)

Disciplined Hockey Leads Owls to Victory

Westfield, MA -- In a Halloween match up, the Owls were able to skate away with a 4-3 victory over Roger Williams on Saturday. Joe Santaniello, would score his third goal in as many games to put Westfield up 1-0 on the power play. Matt Arena would double the lead in the second period when his centering pass from the corner deflected off a defender and into the net. A little over a minute later, Anthony Aspromonti would score a break away goal to put the Owls up 3-0 early in the second period. Roger Williams would score on a break away of their own midway through the period as the home team would go into the third period with a 3-1 lead.

Westfield was disciplined for most of the game, only being short-handed once. This allowed all four lines to be involved and contribute. Lucas Zuspan would make it a one goal game with five minutes left in the game. With the teams skating four skaters each, Connor Sweeney would rush the length of the ice and sneak a shot past Harrison Fabris to regain the Owls two goal lead. With the goalie pulled and the face off in offensive zone, the Hawks were able to score with 36 seconds remaining in the game. However, the Owls were able to hold on to secure their first two conference points of the season.

The team will continue conference play on Friday night as the Owls travel down to Bolton, CT to face University of Connecticut. The two teams met earlier in the month with UConn sneaking out a 2-1 win. Game time is scheduled for 8:10 pm. Westfield returns home the next night, as they host Trinity College at 5 pm. 

Score Sheet: 10/31/2015 vs. Roger Williams University

Goals: Santaniello (3), Arena (1), Aspromonti (2), Sweeney (2)

Goalie: Thornton, 40 Saves 

Power Play: 1 for 5 (11%)

Penalty Kill: 1 for 1 (82%)

2015 Veteran's Day Game

Westfield, MA -- The Westfield State University club hockey team announced that proceeds from their third annual Veteran's Day game will benefit Major Glenn "Chugs" Milliken and the Check-6 Foundation. "Chugs" is a Fighter Pilot with the 104th Fighter Wing of Westfield, Massachusetts who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He is currently undergoing treatment. 

The Check-6 Foundation is helping him and his family through this, as their mission is to provide direct financial aid to seriously ill children and veterans in need. Please visit their website to find out information about the Foundation and ways to help at www.check6.org . 

100% of the funds raised through ticket sales and raffles will benefit the Milliken family. The team is currently accepting items and services to be raffled off during the game on November 11th against Norwich University. Please contact Coach Lachance at mmjl87@gmail.com for more information.