Hockey Hosts Worcester State on Saturday

Westfield, Mass.- The Westfield State University men's hockey team will be back on their home ice for a contest against Worcester State this Saturday at 5:35pm.

After going 1-1 in their last two games with a 4-2 win over Framingham and a 3-1 loss to Plymouth, the Owls continue to sit at .500, with their overall record at 8-8-2, and 3-6-2 in the MASCAC. The visiting Lancers are currently at 7-9-1 overall and 4-5-1 in conference play.

Worcester is fresh off of a 7-6 overtime win in a non-conference competition against Assumption.

These two teams have already met once this season, with the  Owls falling 6-4 to the Lancers.

Westfield will look to keep feeding the hot hand of Mathieu Jones, who lit the lamp twice in the victory over Framingham, doubling his goal total on the year.

Keys for Success- Goaltender Valtteri Valtonen and the defense look to stay composed after only allowing two goals on 39 shots in the Framingham game. Tyler Shugrue also had a solid outing against Plymouth, saving 47 of the 50 shots that he saw.

Staying out of the Box- Another point of emphasis for the Owls is limiting penalty minutes. They have been penalized 16 times in their last three games. Four of those power plays ended in goals. It will be crucial for the Owls to keep five skaters on the ice as much as possible after giving up 50 shots on goal against Plymouth State.

Pucks on Net- On the offensive end, the Owls were well above their season average of 33.8 shots per game against Framingham (43 SOG). They look to carry this offensive flame into Amelia Park on Saturday and tally another conference victory.   

The Lancers have skidded to 1-3-1 over their last five games, so expect them to come out with some intensity as they hope to mark the win column for only the second time since December 10^th.

- by Evan Levrault, Sports information intern