Backstrom, Owls Silence Fitchburg 5-1

WESTFIELD, Mass.  – Senior forward Daniel Backstrom's (Helsinki, Finland) three-point night led the Westfield State men's ice hockey team to a 5-1 victory over Fitchburg State University on Saturday night at Amelia Park Ice Arena.

With the win, the Owls move to 8-4-5 overall and 6-2-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), while the Falcons drop to 9-6-2 on the year and 6-2-2 in the MASCAC.

The two teams battled to a 4-4 draw in Fitchburg earlier in the season, and with the even records coming into tonight, the winner of this game would hold the second-place tiebreaker in the league.

It was a high-energy contest, directly reflecting the nature of the standings as the regular season comes to an end in the next month. But thanks to a great performance in net by Thierry Messervier (Montreal, Quebec) and an Owls offense that seemed to score right when they needed it, the home team grabbed the win and an edge in the standings too.

The first frame was fast-paced right from the drop of the puck with both teams looking eager to jump back into conference play.

The Owls struck first on Jake Ratcliffe's (Canterbury, New Zealand) ninth tally of the season, a beauty of a wrister from the top of the right circle, and just like that the home team was on top four minutes into the game.

Fitchburg would go on to even the score after Trent Shanley (Hillsdale, N.J.) tapped home a loose puck in the crease. Kevin Perry (Hull, Mass.) took a puck that caromed off the boards past the Owl defenseman and carried it in down the left-wing side. Perry ripped a shot that caught a piece of Westfield State goaltender Thierry Messervier's shoulder pad and trickled slowly toward the goal line where Shanley was right there to tap it in.

It was the Owls who would have the final word in the first period when Backstrom smoothly tipped home a David Chavis (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) shot from the point to put Westfield back on top 2-1.

Westfield extended their lead nearly five minutes into the second when Backstrom struck again for his second of the night and seventh of the season. Jake Ratcliffe took the puck up the ice and slid an on-sides pass over to Backstrom, who took the wide route to the goal and snapped one home from the top of the circle to give the Owls the 3-1 lead.  Backstrom would finish the night with two goals and an assist to lead the Owls in scoring.

After that, intensity picked up and the game started to become chippy at points. Many shots were exchanged in the third, as well as a few penalties, but the only scoring entries on the sheet were two empty-netters by Justin Alves (Woburn, Mass.) and John-Michael DiGregorio (Montreal, Quebec) to cap off the scoring for the evening.

Messervier had another solid performance in net for the Owls, stopping 35 of 36 shots on the evening. Junior Brian McGrath (Worcester, Mass.) made 25 saves of his own for the Falcons.

Neither team was able to convert on the powerplay, as the Owls finished 0-3 and Fitchburg 0-4.

Next up for the Owls is a road trip to Framingham State this Thursday with the MASCAC matchup slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.

Fitchburg travels to UMass. Dartmouth the same night for a 7:20 p.m. showdown with the Corsairs.