Jackson Leef picked up a pair of assists for the Owls. (WSU File Photo)
NEW BEDFORD – Westfield State parlayed good health into victory, as the Owls skated to a 4-2 win over UMass Dartmouth in the opening round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s ice hockey tournament at Hetland Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Westfield which had skated a line short due to a variety of injuries in the closing weeks of the season were buoyed by the returns of Jackson Leef, Cory Wilson, Mason Wade and Jeremy Young.
Westfield jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by senior Kyllian Kirkwood assisted by Leef.
UMass Darmouth answered 7:46 into the second period when Mike Kelly tallied the first of his two goals on the day on the power play to tie the game at 1-1.
The Owls Roman Pfennings gave Westfield a 2-1 lead later in the second with Leef picking up a second assist on the afternoon.
Nik Passero extended Westfield State’s lead to 3-1 with an assist from Wilson with just over 12 minutes left in the game, but Kelly’s second marker of the day pulled the Corsairs to within 3-2.
Westfield withstood a late Corsairs’ power play, and finally Owls’ senior Dalton Jay tallied an empty-netter with 23 seconds left in the game to give Westfield the 4-2 final. Jay’s goal was his team leading 18th of the season.
Westfield peppered UMD goaltender Drew Michals with 37 shots. The Owls Jonathan LoParco stopped 36 shots in goal.
The Owls advance to play top seeded Salem State on Tuesday night at Salem in the MASCAC semifinals.– Courtesy of Westfield State Sports
