Owls Skate Past Vikings
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Westfield St. (7-3-4, 5-1-2) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
|
Salem St. (2-10-2, 2-5) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
SALEM, Mass. - Jake Ratcliffe (Canterbury, New Zealand) scored two goals to lead the Westfield State Owls to a 6-2 victory over the Salem State Vikings. The Owls' three-goal surge in the second period propelled Westfield State to their seventh win of the season (7-3-4). The Owls are now 5-1-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). Salem State dips to 2-10-2 on the year and 2-5 in the MASCAC.
With 11:24 into the first period, Daniel Backstrom (Helsinki, Finland) raced down the ice and found Ratcliffe in the slimmest gap past a Vikings defender. Ratcliffe then shot towards the near post to put the Owls up 1-0.
Later in the period, the Vikings tied the score 1-1, as Landon Hasenfuss (Hanover, Mass.) was next to Westfield State's crease and delivered the puck to Eamonn Miller (Victoria, British Columbia) in the middle, who shot it into the right side of the net with 4:48 remaining in the period.
The Owls took back the lead quickly when Danny Totten (L'Ile-Perrot, Quebec) scored a goal. Paul Frys (Portland, Oreg.) caught Salem State out of position with only goalie Sean Cleary (Barnstable, Mass.) to defend, he passed it to Totten who, launched a slapshot, putting Westfield State ahead 2-1 with 3:34 to finish the first period.
In the second, John-Michael DeGregorio (Montreal, Quebec) passed it to a trailing Francois-Xavier Girard (St. Lazare, Quebec) who tipped it into the goal as the Owls led 3-1 with 11:17 to go in the second period.
Westfield State went on to score two more goals in the second period from Justin Alves (5:13) and Ratcliffe (1:41) to lead 5-1. Both goals were scored on power plays.
In the third period, DiGregorio got on the board for the Owls (18:22) with a shorthanded goal as they held a huge lead of 6-1.
20 seconds later, Richard Coyle (Weymouth, Mass.) scored a goal for the Vikings, making it a 6-2 game.
Westfield State's goalie Thierry Messervier (Montreal Quebec) was awarded the win allowing two goals and saving 26 shots. Salem State's Cleary conceded six goals and made 16 saves.