***HOME GAME AGAINST MIT***

Westfield, MA -- The Owls have announced that they will make up the game against MIT on January 15th at 7 PM. The Owls and Engineers had to postpone their game because of the late October snowstorm.

Owls Atop American Conference In 3-2 Victory

Westfield, MA --- The Owl's hosted Bates College on Saturday night in a battle for first place in NECHA's American Conference. After a scoreless first period, the Owl's would get on the board when Tommy Bruso scored his 9th goal of the season when he stick handled around a defender and beat Bates netminder Matt Mosca. Midway through the second period, Anthony Hardy would get a short-handed goal to make it a 2 goal lead for the Owls. Hardy, who was on a 2 on 1, decided to take the shot and beat Moseca stick side. The Owls would take a 2-0 lead into the final period.

With 13:47 remaining in the game, Bates would finally get on the board to cut the Owls lead in half when Matt Silvermen beat Chase Thornton. Thornton ended up making 30 saves in the game and improved his record to 3-2-0. The Owls would regain their 2 goal lead when Tommy Bruso scored his second goal of the night only 2 minutes later. With the goalie pulled, Bates managed to score a power play goal with 1: 28 remaining in the game. However, the Owls would hold on for a 3-2 victory.

With the victory, the Owls are alone atop the American Conference with a record of 4-1-0. They are currently on a 4 game winning streak and were perfect in November going 4-0-0. The Owls will have Thanksgiving weekend off before playing two conference games on the road at Harvard and Sacred Heart.

Key Stats:
Goals: Bruso (9,10), Hardy (5)
Goalie: Thornton (3-2-0)
Power Play: 0 for 2 (0%)
Penatly Kill: 5 for 6 (83%)

Owl's Get First Road Victory Against WPI

Marlboro, MA --- The Westfield State Owls traveled to Central Mass on Friday night to take on WPI. The Owls came out strong in the first period and grabbed a 1-0 lead when Anthony Hardy scored the game's first goal only 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Greg Rice and Ryan Leonard would pick up the assists on the goal. The Rams would score the next two goals to take the lead heading into the final minutes of the period. Tommy Bruso would tie the game up with 1:09 remaining in the first period when Corey Tobin fed him a long pass to send the Owl's captain all alone on a breakaway.

The Owls received a lucky bounce only 33 seconds into the second period when Joey Green's centering pass deflected off a WPI defenseman and into the back of the net for a 3-2 Owls lead. The lead would last until midway through the second period when Nick Martin beat Owl's netminder Nick Franco to tie the game at 3-3. The teams would go into the locker rooms tied at 3.

In the third, the Owls would take the lead when Anthony Hardy scored his second goal of the night when he fired a shot from the slot that beat Ram's goaltender Jeremy Lowery. Ryan Laughlin would get the insurance goal for Westfield with just under 4 minutes remaining and the Owls improved their winning streak to 3 games.

The Owls are home on Saturday against Bates College at 5 pm. It will be a battle for first place in NECHA's American Conference.

Key Stats:

Goals: Hardy (3,4), Bruso (8), Green (2), Laughlin (1)
Goalie: Franco (3-0-0)
Power Play: 0 for 1 (0%)
Penalty Kill: 3 for 3 (100%)

Week of 11/14 - 11/21

The following is the schedule for the week of November 14th through the 21st.

November 15th --- Practice @ Amelia Park (10 PM)
November 17th --- Practice @ Amelia Park (10 PM)
November 18th --- Game @ WPI (8:30 PM)
November 19th --- Game Vs. Bates College (5 PM)

The directions page has been updated for all remaining away games. You can follow all of the games by following the team's twitter account by following them @wsuclub

Westfield Beats Eastern Connecticut 7-2

Westfield, MA -- The Owls would once again fall behind early when Steve Engborg banked a shot off of Owl's netminder Nick Franco's back and into the net midway through the first period. Nick Franco picked up his second victory of the season and stopped 16 out of 18 shots faced. The Owls would tie the game before the intermission when Erik LaMotte skated down the right wing boards and cut in front of the net and put it past Connecticut's Kyle Manuilow.

Westfield would take the lead only 23 seconds into the second period when Greg Rice would score his first goal of the night. Pete Richardson would make it 3-1 when he fired a puck into the net after a generous bounce off the back wall. Nick Rose would make it 4-1 after he walked into the slot all alone from the corner for his second goal of the season. Tommy Bruso and Greg Rice would each add power play tallys and the Owl's led 6-1 going into the last period.

Anthony Hardy's hard hustle in the third period would lead to his second goal of the season with under 5 minutes remaining in the game to make it a 7-1 lead for Westfield. David Russo and Ryan Leonard would pick up assists on the goal. Eastern Connecticut would get a short-handed goal with 2:57 remaining in the game and the Owls would end up defeating Eastern Connecticut by the score of 7-2.

The two teams will meet again on December 9th at Eastern Connecticut to conclude the season series. The Owls travel to New England Sports Center in Marlboro on Friday night to take on WPI before heading home for their next league game against Bates College on Saturday at Amelia Park. Updates for both games can be found at the club team's twitter account at: wsuclub.

Key Stats:

Goals: LaMotte (2), Rice (1,2), Richardson (3), Rose (2), Bruso (7), Hardy (2)

Saves: Franco (18)

Power Play: 2 for 6 (66%)

Penalty Kill: 4 for 4 (100%)

Special Teams Power Westfield Past Bridgewater 6-4

Westfield, MA - The Westfield State Owls defeated the Bridgewater State Bears on Saturday night 6-4. The Owls would score three power play goals and add a short-handed goal in a penalty filled game. After trailing 2-0, the Owls would cut the lead in half with 1:56 left in the first period when Corey Tobin found Tommy Bruso all alone in front.

In the opening minute of the second period, Bridgewater State would score to regain their 2 goal lead. In a back and forth second period, Corey Tobin would shoot home a loose puck to make it a one goal game. The Owls would tie the game 5 minutes later when Anthony Hardy broke in alone to score a short-handed goal. Bridgewater State would regain their lead with a power play goal with 4:54 remaining in the second when they broke down the left wing side and fired a puck past Owl's netminder Nick Franco. However, the Owls would tie the game when Joey Green dove and passed the puck across the crease to Tommy Bruso for his second goal of the night. The two teams would go into the locker rooms tied at 4-4.

Nick Rose would get the game-winning goal midway through the third period when his shot from the slot beat the Bears goaltender on the power play. Erik LaMotte would add an insurance goal with 29 seconds remaining in the game and the Owls beat the Bears 6-4.

The Owls next game will be on Sunday, November 13th at 4 P.M. at Amelia Park. It will be their 2nd out of conference game of the season against Eastern Connecticut State University. You can get in game updates by following the club hockey team on twitter at @wsuclub.

Key Stats:
Goals: Bruso (5,6), Tobin (1), Hardy (1), Rose (1) LaMotte (1)
Win: Franco (1)
Power Play: 3 Goals For
Penalty Kill: 1 Goal Against

Westfield Loses to Keene State in Battle of the Owls

Ashburnham, MA --- The Westfield State Owls traveled up to Cushing Academy on Saturday to face the Keene State Owls in their first out of conference game of the season. Westfield would once again fall behind when Pat Sullivan skated around the net and picked the top corner to beat netminder Chase Thornton. Thornton ended up stopping 37 shots on the night. Keene would make it 2-0 midway through the second period when they converted a 3 on 1 finished by Colby Tyler. It was the first power play goal against for the Westfield State Owls this season.

Westfield would cut the lead in half in the opening minute of the third period when Bobby Hayhurst fired a shot from the point on the power play. Brian Nixon would pick up the assist on the goal. However, Keene State would score two quick goals to give themselves a comfortable 4-1 lead with under 5 minutes remaining. Pete Richardson scored his 2nd goal of the season with 3:29 remaining but it was too late as the Owls fell to Keene State by the score of 4-2.

The Owls return to home ice on Saturday, November 5th at 5 P.M. to take on the Bridgewater State Bears at Amelia Park. Both teams enter Saturday with a record of 2-1-0 in conference play. Bridgewater and Westfield both have conference wins over Merrimack and St. Anselm's.

Key Stats:
Goals: Hayhurst (1), Richardson (2)
Saves: Thornton 37
Power Play: 1 for 7
Penalty Kill: 6 for 7