Owls Post 5-2 Victory Over Vikings

SALEM, Mass. – Chuck Costello (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored a pair of goals and added two assists as Westfield State picked up a 5-2 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Salem State on Thursday evening at Rockett Arena. The Owls improve to 10-9-2 and 5-7-2 in conference while the Vikings go to 7-11 and 5-9 in league play.

Westfield State scored two quick power-play goals in the opening period to jump on top 2-0. Joseph Carbone (Marshfield, Mass.) took advantage of a 5-on-3 power-play to produce the first goal, lacing the puck in from the left side at the 8:33 mark. Tom Sköld (Jama, Sweden) added a second score fifteen seconds later with a shot just inside the left post. Salem State cut into the lead midway through the period when Rafael Praysner (Dallas, Texas) found David Cicak (Cranford, N.J) alone in the slot. The sophomore beat goalie Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) with a one-timer making the score 2-1.

Connor Woolley (Poghquag, N.Y.) tied the game for Salem State 4:14 into the second, batting a puck in from mid-air to make the score 2-2. However, the tie was short lived as the Owls came back to regain the lead just thirty-three seconds later as Costello found the back of the net on another Westfield State power-play. A turnover in the neutral zone by Salem State led to Costello's second score of the period, as he put home a loose puck for a 4-2 Owl's lead 6:39 into the second.

The third period remained scoreless until  Mathieu Jones (Gatineau, Quebec) added an empty-net goal for Westfield State in the final minute to cap the scoring.

Valtonen made 44 saves in the win for the Owls while his counterpart Aaron Mercer (Corner Brook, Newfoundland) was credited with 29 stops in net. The Vikings outshot the Owls 46-34, but went 0-for-6 on the power-play while allowing three goals in four opportunities for Westfield State.