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)

Owls Defeat Bears 5-3 With Team Effort

Bridgewater, MA --- The Westfield State Owls defeated the Bridgewater Bears 5-3 in an afternoon tilt on Sunday. David Russo would put the Owls on the board first with 11:55 remaining in the first period with a wrist shot that beat Bears netminder Matt Scott five hole. The Bears would strike back 53 seconds later and the two teams would go into the first intermission tied at one goal a piece.

The Owls would regain their lead with 4:26 left in the second period with a power play goal from Joey Green. Corey Tobin and Rob Collins would pick up assists on the goal. However, Bridgewater would once again tie the game a minute later and the two teams would head into the second intermission tied once again.

The Owls would get back to back goals from David Russo and Anthony Hardy within the first 3 minutes of the third period and would give the Owls their first 2 goal lead of the game. Midway through the third, Rob Collins would score on a rebound from Anthony Hardy to make it 5-2 Owls. It took a team effort to beat the Bears as 9 different Owls found their way on the score sheet. Kevin Gilbert would add a goal for the Bears with 8:41 remaining in the game and the Owls would hold on for the 5-3 win.

The Owls will finish out the regular season on Friday night when they travel to face Merrimack College at 9:10 pm. You can get game updates by following the team's twitter at @wsuclub. Also, please keep checking back on the team's website for the latest information about the 2012 NECHA playoff schedule. We will post information as soon as we get it from the league.

Three Stars

1) Rob Collins (Goal & Assist)
2) David Russo (2 Goals)
3) Nick Franco (24 Saves)

Key Stats

Goals: Russo (2), Green (1), Hardy (1), Collins (1)
Assists: Keating (1), Tobin (1), Collins (1), MacDonald (1), Green (1), Bruso (1), Hardy (1), Salamon (1)
Saves: Franco (24)
Power Play: 1 for 6 (17%)
Penalty Kill: 8 for 8 (100%)

Owls Claim American Conference Title

Lewiston, ME --- The Westfield State University Owls secured the top spot in the American Conference with a 3-0 win over Bates College on Friday night. The Owls got off to a fast start and would score the first goal of the game only 1:04 into the game when Anthony Hardy skated down the right wing boards and passed the puck out front to Peter Richardson who put it past Bates goalie Matt Mosca. The Owls would increase their lead to 2-0 when Joey Green finished a beautiful 2 on 1 play with a pass from Tommy Bruso.

After skating a scoreless second period, Anthony Hardy would put the Owls up 3-0 in the beginning of the third period when he knocked a loose puck into the back of the net. Peter Richardson and Will Keating picked up assists on the goal. Chase Thornton was spectacular in net again increasing his shutout streak to 95:39. It was the Owls first shutout of the season. The team is averaging 4.19 goals a game and is averaging 2.44 goals against a game.

The Owls will travel down to Bridgewater State on Super Bowl Sunday for a 1:10 pm puck drop. The Owls defeated the Bears 6-4 on November 5th. You can get game updates by following the team's twitter @wsuclub.

Three Stars1) Chase Thornton (Shutout)
2) Peter Richardson (Game-Winning Goal & Assist)
3) Anthony Hardy (Goal & Assist)

Key StatsGoals: Richardson (1), Green (1), Hardy (1)
Assists: Hardy (1), Bruso (1), Richardson (1), Keating (1)
Power Play: 0 for 6 (0%)
Penalty Kill: 4 for 4 (100%)

Owls Travel to Maine Tomorrow Night

Westfield, MA --- The Owls travel up to Lewiston, Maine tomorrow night to face Bates College at 6:30 pm at Underhill Arena. The Owls currently have 17 points in the American Conference and can clinch the regular season title with a win. The Owls beat Bates 3-2 when the two teams met on November 19th in Westfield. The team will try to update their twitter as much as possible. You can follow the team on twitter @wsuclub.

American Conference Games (2/3 - 2/5)
Westfield @ Bates (Fri)
Sacred Heart @ Harvard (Sat)
Bridgewater @ Merrimack (Sat)
Westfield @ Bridgewater (Sun)