Owls Skate to 5-5 Tie With Division I Stonehill

WESTFIELD, Mass. –  Joseph Carbone's power play goal with 1:01 left in regulation lifted Westfield State to a 5-5 tie against Division I Stonehill in a non-conference men's ice hockey game at  the Bridgewater Ice Arena on Tuesday night.

Westfield rallied from two-goal deficits twice in the game, trailing 3-1 midway through the second period and 5-3 early in the third period.

Down 3-1 in the second, Westfield got goals from Daniel Finegan and Carbone to tie the game at 3-3, but the Skyhawks led 4-3 at the second intermission after a Dean Schwenninger goal.

Stonehill got a shorthanded goal from Teddy McElaney off of an assist from Schwenninger to grab a 5-3 lead at 12:46 of the third period.

Gianluca Marini tallied on the power play for Westfield at 16:41 of the third period to trim the lead to 5-4 and set the stage fo Carbone's late game-tying marker.

The two teams played an exhibition shootout after the tie, with the Owls coming away with the "shootout win" as Carbone netted his shootout try, while Owls goalie Valtteri Valtonen stymied all three Stonehill shooters in the extra session.   Officially, the game goes into the record books as a tie.

In regulation play, Valtonen stopped 32 of the 37 shots he faced.

Westfield is now 3-3-1 on the season, while Stonehill, playing in its first season as a transitional member of NCAA Division I, is 7-1-1 while playing a schedule of mixed Division I, II and III opponents.

The Owls will be off until Thursday, Dec. 1 when they play a MASCAC Conference game at Fitchburg State.