Salem State Comeback Falls Short at Westfield 6-5

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications 

WESTFIELD, Mass.-  Brett Williams (Easton, Mass.) scored twice to give Westfield State a 6-5 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Salem State on Saturday evening at Amelia Park Ice Rink. The Owls improve their record to 11-7-1 and 8-6-1 in conference while the Vikings drop to 5-14-0  and 5-10-0 in conference.

From the moment the puck dropped, Westfield State showed its readiness to skate, as they wasted no time. At the 4:46 mark of the first period, Dawson Garcia  (Oakville, Ontario) scored a goal on an assist by Gianluca Marini (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) putting the Owls on the scoreboard.

With the momentum on their side, Westfield State was given an extra advantage when Salem State's Carson James  (Falmouth, Maine) was penalized for tripping, putting the Owls on a five-on-four power play. They took full advantage of the situation, and Williams scored a goal on assists by Garcia and Andres Fleutot (Megeve, France) at the 7:04 mark.  Late into the period, the Owls struck again, increasing their lead to three when Christopher Miraldo (Montreal, Quebec) scored a goal on an assist by Fleutot, who captured his second assist of the game at the 15:52 mark of the period.

As the first period came to a close, Salem State found themselves down in a deep hole, trailing by three goals. They headed into the second period with a lot of ground to cover to turn the game around.

In the second period of the game, Williams scored his second goal for Westfield State, giving them a comfortable 4-0 lead at the 9:37 mark of the second period. However, Salem State did not give up and fought back fiercely, scoring three goals in a span of a minute and eleven seconds. At the 10:24 mark, Luke Pepin  (Lee, N.H.) scored the first goal for the Vikings, assisted by Landyn Greatorex (Reading, Mass.). Keagan O'Donoghue (Frisco, Tx.)  then scored the second goal for the Vikings at the 11:26 mark, followed just nine seconds later by Carson Whitman's (Boston, Mass.) goal, assisted by Greatorex for his second assist of the game.  

Salem State was determined to make a comeback and potentially take the lead for a come-from-behind victory, as they found themselves down by just one goal heading into the final 20 minutes of the game.

During the first two periods, Hunter Thomas (Schwenksville, Pa.) saved 18 of 24 shots while Kevin Chandler (Hanover, Mass.)  saved 12 of 15 shots. The Vikings were unable to capitalize on all three power plays, while the Owls were successful in one out of their three power plays.

During the third period of the game,  Carson James (Falmouth, Maine) of the Vikings scored to tie the game at four with an assist from Jake Stapert (Flemington, N.J.) and Evan Cronkhite (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), bringing them back into the game at the 2:40 mark. At one point during the game the Vikings were down 4-0.  However, the Owls were quick to respond by making a goalie change. Chandler was replaced by Valtteri Voltenen (Helsinki, Finland) after giving up the fourth goal of the game.

The Owls came back scoring two more times. Marini scored with an assist from Daniel Finegan  (Chicago, Ill.) at the 5:46 mark, breaking the tie and pushing the Owls ahead. Nicolas Coppola (Glendale, Ariz.)  ]then extended Westfield State's lead to two with a goal assisted by Garcia. The Vikings tried to bounce back and made it a one-goal game when Colin Roe (Hyde Park, Mass.)  was sent to the box for roughing. Salem State then had a five on four power play, and Chase Conlon (Anchorage, Alaska) scored with assists from Greatorex and Wilkie at the 14:03 mark of the third period. However, it was not enough to bring the Vikings back into the game, and they fell 6-5 at Westfield.

Thomas saved an impressive 31 of 37 shots, while the Owls' Chandler saved 17 of 21 shots before being replaced by Voltenen, who saved 3 of 4 shots in the final 17:20 of the game. Both teams struggled during power plays, with each team only converting one of their four attempts.

Salem State will be looking to bounce back when they return to Rockett Arena on February 1 to face Fitchburg State for a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest. Puck drops at 7 p.m.