Dalton Jay celebrates a goal vs. Salem State. (Courtesy of Westfield State Sports)
WESTFIELD – Senior forward Dalton Jay (Hamilton, Ont.) scored for the fourth game in a row, but Westfield State dropped its third consecutive home game, falling to Salem State, 5-2, in MASCAC action Thursday night at Amelia Park Ice Arena.
With the win, Salem State improves to 15-5 overall and moves into first place in the MASCAC with an 11-2 conference record and 22 points. Westfield State drops to 11-9 on the season, and sits in fourth place in the conference standings at 6-7.
Salem State senior forward Andrew Bucci (Peabody, Mass.) opened the scoring on a shorthanded goal, deking Owls goaltender Jonathan LoParco (Vaughn, Ont.) before flipping the puck backhanded into the net less than four minutes into the game.
Jay evened the score with 7:01 remaining in the first period, beating a Salem defenseman one-one-one in the slot before sliding a shot underneath junior goaltender Marcus Zelzer’s knee pads. Freshmen Wyatt Trumbley (Campbell River, B.C.) and Colby Daniels (Leask, Sask.) were credited with assists on the goal.
Salem, however, responded with two goals in the final four minutes of the first period to seize a 3-1 advantage.
Sophomore forward Mackenzie Cook (Reading, Mass.) stole an errant pass in front of the Owls net to take a 2-1 lead, then senior forward Cam Moniz (Seekonk, Mass.) deflected home a Gabriel Cromp (Montreal, Quebec) slapshot from the blue-line for a 3-1 edge.
Salem State peppered LoParco with shots throughout the night, outshooting the Owls, 42-22. LoParco made 37 saves in the loss.
Michael Chen added an unassisted goal 10 minutes into the second period, five-holing LoParco after scooping up a loose puck when an errant Owls pass deflected of a teammate’s skate and into their defensive zone.
Cody Campbell-Rich (Ridgecrest, Calif.) cut the Vikings lead to 4-2 midway through the third period, stationing himself at the far post and tapping home his eighth goal of the season after a beautiful feed from sophomore forward Nik Passero (Fort Erie, Ont.). Sam Quaranta (Niagara Falls, Ont.) also earned an assist on the play.
The Owls pulled LoParco from the net with about three minutes remaining in the game and had chances to pull within one goal, but Zelzer and the Vikings defense held strong. Zelzer saved 20 of the 22 shots on net.
Senior forward Andrew Bettencourt (Riverside, RI) put home an empty-netter with 26 seconds left to cap the scoring for Salem.
Westfield will head to Fitchburg on Saturday, February 6 to take on the third-place Falcons at 6 p.m. The Falcons defeated the Owls, 10-4, in their last meeting,
Salem will host Plymouth State at Rockett Ice Arena next Thursday in a battle of the top two teams in the MASCAC. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
