Owls Host Roger Williams on Halloween

• OPPONENT: ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY HAWKS
• DATE: OCTOBER 31st, 2015
• TIME: 5:00 PM
• PLACE: AMELIA PARK ARENA 

Westfield State University students who dress in a Halloween costume to the game on Saturday, October 31st will receive a FREE ticket WITH a WSU student ID. 

Eastern CT 5 - Westfield State 2

Westfield, MA -- After a great start, Westfield ran into penalty problems as Eastern Connecticut defeated the Owls 5-2 on Saturday night. Joe Santaniello would put home a Colin Pierce rebound 9:28 into the first period to give the Owls a 1-0 lead. Eastern Connecticut would score on the power play with 36 seconds left in the first to knot the score up at 1-1. John Galvin would get the goal back only 14 seconds later when his shot from the left circle beat Warriors goaltender Alec Bliesener. 

Penalties once again haunted the Owls as they would take 15 minutes worth of penalties in the second period. Eastern CT would score on a 5 minute major to take a 3-2 lead heading into the final period. Chase Thornton made several saves in the second period to keep the game close. He would finish the night making 50 saves. In the third, Eastern would score an insurance goal midway through the period. They would also score an empty netter to make it a 5-2 final. 

Westfield looks to bounce back on Saturday as they host Roger Williams University in another key conference game. Game time is at 5:00 pm at Amelia Park Arena. All students who are dressed in a costume will get in free with a WSU student ID. 

Game Sheet: 10/24/15 vs. Eastern CT State Univ.

Goals: Galvin (2), Santaniello (2)

Goaltender: Thornton, 50 Saves

Power Play: 0 for 3 (9%)

Penalty Kill: 7 for 9 (81%)

Balanced Offense Helps Owls to 6-1 Victory

South Windsor, CT -- The Owls captured their first win of the season on Saturday night as they defeated the Univ. of Connecticut Blue Huskies 6-1. Colin Pierce would put the Owls on the board early as he tipped in a shot from the point for his second goal of the season. Kris Houda would double the lead 23 seconds later on a breakaway. Anthony Aspromonti would score his first of the season when Kris Houda's centering pass found Aspromonti in front of the net for the one timer. 

Westfield would add a shorthanded goal in the beginning of the second to increase their lead to 4-0. Colin Pierce won the draw back to Pat O'Neil, who cleared the puck to Joe Santaniello. Santaniello would convert on the breakaway as he slid the puck past Huskies netminder John Sullivan. The Owls were able to kill all seven of the Huskies power plays and added a Connor Sweeney wrap around on the man advantage. Connecticut's Chance Foster would spoil Chase Thornton's shut out bid with 8:18 remaining in the second period. Chase would pick up his first win of the season before Sophomore goaltender, Jeremey Flibotte, came in to see his first action of the season.  Brian Bassett would crash the net on an Alec Metropoulos rebound to seal the 6-1 victory for the Owls.

The team would like to thank the Sweeney's for providing the post game meal. On Saturday, Westfield (0-2) hosts Eastern Connecticut (3-0) in a key conference match up. The game is at 5 pm at Amelia Park Arena. 

Goals: Pierce (2), Houda (2), Aspromonti (1), Santaniello (1), Sweeney (1), Bassett (1) 

Goaltenders: Thornton, 19 Saves - Flibotte, 9 Saves 

Power Play: 1 for 4 (11%)

Penalty Kill: 7 for 7 (84%)

Owls Drop Heart Breaker to Bridgewater

Westfield, MA -- The Owls battled to the last minute but were unable to secure any points on Tuesday night as they lost to Bridgewater State by the score of 4-3. Bridgewater jumped out to an early 3-0 lead twelve minutes into the game. After a time out, the Owls picked up the pace and were able to get on the board when CJ Kenny cashed in on a rebound in front. Cole Connolly would score to make it a one goal game with under three minutes left in the second period. Connolly rushed the puck up ice and split the Bears defenders while being hooked on the play. The Owls were unable to produce with the power play but were 7 of 8 on the penalty kill. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, Mark Eagles would dump a puck in on the kill with Colin Pierce forechecking. Pierce would steal the puck to tie the game 3-3. However, with 38 seconds remaining, a fortunate bounce led to the game-winning goal for the Bears.  

Westfield will play Univ. of Connecticut (b) on Saturday night in a non-league game. Game time is scheduled for 6 pm at South Windsor Arena. 

Game Sheet: 10/13/15 vs. Bridgewater State Univ.

Goals: Kenny (1), Connolly (1), Pierce (1)
Goaltender: Thornton,
Power Play: 0 for 5 (7%)
Penalty Kill: 7 for 8 (78%)

Owls Fall Late To UConn

Westfield, MA --- Westfield State (0-1-0) opened up their conference schedule on Saturday night when they hosted the Univ. of Connecticut Huskies (1-1-0) at Amelia Park Arena. Nick Jaeger would benefit from a defensive zone turnover and found the back of the net to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. With the second period coming to an end, Joe Almeida's shot from just inside the blue line knotted the game up at a goal apiece as the two teams headed into the final period. Senior netminder, Chase Thornton had a strong game in net stopping 31 of 33 shots.

In the third, the Owls had a pair of power play opportunities to try to get the go-ahead goal but were unable to capitalize. The two teams combined for only six penalties and the Owls were two for two on the penalty kill. With 5:31 remaining, Ben Pulley was able to sneak behind the defensemen and beat Thornton to give the Huskies a 2-1 victory.

Westfield will enjoy the rest of the long weekend before getting back to work on Tuesday night as they host Bridgewater State (0-1-0). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:15 pm with updates provided on twitter. 

Game Sheet: 10/10 vs. Univ. of Connecticut

Goal: Almeida (1)

Goaltender: Thornton, 31 Saves

Power Play: 0 for 4 (11%)

Penalty Kill: 2 for 2 (70%) 

Slow Start Costs Owls

Newington, CT - The Owls learned that there's never a dull moment in the ACHA on Saturday as their team bus was involved in an accident on their way down to play Central Connecticut State University. After a 25 minute delay, the Owls found themselves down 3-0 midway through the first period. As the play went on, things finally started to stabilize as Chase Thornton made some key saves to keep the team within striking distance. Thornton would finish the night making 49 saves. Kris Houda would score his first collegiate goal on a chip shot from the slot to make it 3-1 half way through the second period. Devil's forward, Kyle Leverzapf, found his way behind the defense to score on a break away goal to recapture their three goal lead. Senior captain, Schyler Reilly, would cut the lead in half with the man advantage as Joe Santaniello found him in the left wing circle, and buried his first of the season. Westfield would finish the night 1 for 2 on the power play. Central CT would add a goal on a blast from the point and would take the 5-2 victory.

Westfield starts their conference play on Saturday afternoon as they host University of Connecticut (A) at Amelia Park at 5 pm. This is the first of twelve conference games that will determine who will qualify for the post season in February. The Huskies are on probation and cannot be regular season champions or qualify for the NECHA playoffs.  

Goals: Houda (1), Reilly (1)

Goaltender: Thornton (0-2-0), 49 Saves 

Power Play: 1 for 2 (20%)

Penalty Kill: 4 for 5 (63%)