Westfield’s Maxime Richard rushes to the net during first period action. Photo by Cody Goldman
WESTFIELD – Westfield State University scored a late first-period goal by TJ Powers and held on for a 1-0 victory over Worcester State University in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) ice hockey tournament quarterfinals on Saturday evening.
The No. 3 seed Owls, 12-13-1, will play at No. 2 seed Plymouth State in the MASCAC semifinals on Tuesday, March 4. Worcester, the No. 6 seed, finishes its season with a 9-15-1 overall record.
The Owls defeated the Lancers three times during the regular season by an aggregate score of 16-5. The tournament game was closely contested, however. There were five penalties whistled with Westfield killing a five-minute boarding penalty midway through second stanza.
Powers scored the game-winning goal with 1:15 remaining in the first period. He flicked a shot into the upper right post from the point with assists from Josh McCully and Frank Zuccaro.
Westfield outshot Worcester, 42-32, and Owl senior goalie Eddie Davey (32 saves) recorded his third career shutout and his second shutout in two weeks.
Worcester goalie Salvatore Tecci kept the game close with several outstanding stops and finished with 41 saves.
