Owls Comeback Effort Falls Short in Overtime Loss to Framingham

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Framingham State sophomore Johnny Baker (Newton, Mass.) buried the overtime winner 2:48 into the extra period to defeat Westfield State 4-3 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass. on Thursday night.

The Owls drop to 6-9-1 overall and 3-7 in MASCAC play. The Rams pick up their second win of the season against the Owls, improving to 4-11-1 on the season and 3-7-1 in the conference.

Westfield made a furious charge in the third period as they entered the final regulation frame trailing by two goals. First-year defenseman Thomas Reilly (Foxboro, Mass.) initiated the scoring just 3:30 into the third, wristing a shot near the left face-off dot that managed to evade a multitude of bodies before hitting the back of the net to put Westfield on the board.

Less than a minute later, the Owls produced another scoring chance as JoJo Carbone (Marshfield, Mass.) flicked a shot on goal which was saved by Rams goalkeeper Blake Carlson (Clermont, Fla.) but not corralled. Senior Mathieu Jones (Gatineau, Quebec) then began to jam the puck through the pads of Carlson, eventually finding the back of the net before the officials whistled goalie interference, erasing the goal.

Midway through the third, the Rams regained their two-goal lead as Baker connected on his first of the night, putting Framingham up 3-1. The Owls drew a goal closer four minutes later with Ryan O'Halloran (Burlington, Mass.) potting his fifth goal of the season.

In the closing minutes of the third period, Framingham was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for boarding, setting up a power play opportunity for the Owls. Westfield pulled goaltender Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland), setting up a six-on-four advantage. The Owls immediately capitalized, with Carbone burying a deflected puck on the doorstep of the crease to tie the game at three goals apiece and sending the game to overtime.

Framingham got out to a two-goal lead thanks to tallies in the first and second period. Dylan Marty (New Richmond, WI) began the scoring by wristing a pass towards the center of the crease where Patrick Colgan (Bronx, N.Y.) deflected the puck in midair, beating Valtonen for the opening goal of the game.

Kaleb Kinskey (Dike, IA) followed in the second frame off a feed from Jake Barcelou (Hyde Park, Mass.) to extend the Rams lead.

Valtonen (L, 5-9-1) collected 29 saves for the Owls while Carlson (W, 4-7-1) stopped 35 of 38 shots faced in the contest.

The Owls were 1-5 on the man-advantage in the game, scoring on their final attempt. Framingham scored on one of their two attempts while also providing stout defense when down a man, including a 5-3 penalty kill of the Owls during the first period.

Westfield State remains home in their next game as they will host Fitchburg State on Saturday with puck drop slated for 5:35 P.M. at Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass. Framingham State will travel to conference-leading Plymouth State on Saturday with a start time of 6:00 P.M.