Roman Pfennings celebrates his goal vs. Assumption College. (Courtesy of Westfield State Sports)
WESTFIELD – Junior goaltender Jonathan LoParco (Vaughan, Ont.) made 36 saves and posted his second shutout of the season, leading the Westfield State University men’s hockey team to a 4-0 victory over visiting Assumption College.
Westfield State improves to 7-1 on the season, while Assumption drops to 2-5-2 with the loss.
Sophomore forward Roman Pfennings (Grefath, Germany) scored two goals to lead the Owls, including the first and last goal of the game.
With 13:53 remaining in the first period, Pfennings took a pass from freshman forward Mason Wade (Bellingham, Wash.) at the right faceoff circle and blasted a shot through a crowd of players and into the back of the net for the early lead.
Pfennings also scored a power play goal with 5:25 left in the game, knocking home a rebound for the Owls’ fourth and final goal, and his fourth goal of the season.
In the second period, the Owls twice took advantage of strong faceoffs to stake themselves to a three-goal lead.
On the opening faceoff of the second period, freshman forward Colby Daniels (Leask, Sask.) secured the loose puck and passed to senior forward Dalton Jay (Hamilton, Ont.), who streaked down the left side of the ice and ripped a shot from the top of the circle, beating Greyhounds goaltender Nick Commesso (Marshfield, Mass.) glove side for his sixth goal of the year.
Sophomore forward Nik Passero (Fort Erie, Ont.) then scored his first goal of the season with one second remaining in the period to put the Owls ahead 3-0 heading into the final frame. In the final seconds of the period, sophomore Jeremy Young (Lynnfield, Mass.) won the faceoff in front of the Assumption net and Cody Campbell-Rich (Ridgecrest, Calif.) dished to Passero for a nice top shelf goal.
Commesso played the first two periods in net for Assumption, making 23 saves and allowing three goals to take the loss. Senior Chris Hemhauser (Old Saybrook, Conn.) played the final period, making 15 saves and allowing one goal.
Westfield State heads to Plymouth State on Saturday for a 6 p.m. showdown between the two top teams in the MASCAC. Plymouth State enters the game 4-0 in league play, while Westfield is 4-1.
