Owls Host Framingham Thursday for Alzheimer's Awareness

WESTFIELD, Mass.  – Westfield State hockey will host Framingham State University at Amelia Park Arena on Thursday at 7:35 p.m., with several special promotions part of the event.

Westfield State will wear promotional purple jerseys, the signature color for Alzheimer's Disease Awareness.  The Owls will also be collecting funds to be gifted to the Cure Alzheimer's Fund, a 501c3 charity of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Foundation, based in Massachusetts.

Also, the event coincides with Amelia Park Arena's Canned Food Drive to Shutout Hunger at the Westfield Soup Kitchen.  Those attending the game can bring non-perishable food items to fill the Zamboni parked in the lobby as Amelia Park looks to deliver a full Zamboni of goods to the soup kitchen.   Gifts to the food drive can be made from Feb. 4 through Feb. 10, with the rink open for donations from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and open at 7 a.m. on the weekend.

Events to support the community are nothing new for Westfield State hockey.  The Owls hosted a "Hockey Fights Hunger" game in November in Woburn, Mass., to support two food banks in coach Bob Miele's hometown.   Annually, the Owls team has picked a charity to support with the jersey game; events from past seasons have included breast cancer awareness, the "You Can Play" initiative, first responders, the campus' Common Goods food pantry and the American Heart Association.

Teams from Westfield State have participated in a variety of activities to support Alzheimer's Awareness events, including several Alzheimer's Walks in addition to awareness activities at the Owls Athletics events.

Visit CureALZ.org for more information on the Cure Alzheimer's Fund.

On the ice, the Owls will look to get back on the winning track after a rollercoaster of a week where the Owls knocked off #15 Plymouth State, 3-2 on Thursday, before dropping a 6-2 decision at seventh-place Worcester State.

Westfield is led by senior captains Cullen Young, Gianluca Marini, and Valtteri Valtonen.  Marini has delivered seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points this year.  Young anchors the Owls' blue-liners with four assists this season.  Valtonen has started 12 games with a .910 save percentage and a 3.24 GAA.

The Owls and Framingham have split their first two games this season, each winning on home ice.  Julian Boisclair netted a pair of goals in the Owls 6-4 home win.   Westfield (12-8-1 overall, 9-7-1 MASCAC) are in fourth in the conference standings, three points ahead of the fifth-place Rams (8-11-1, 8-8-1).  A win for either side will go a long way in determining home ice for the first round of the upcoming MASCAC playoffs.

First-year Brady Rossbach leads the Rams with 10 goals. Trevor Stenberg has recorded the lion's share of the minutes in goal for Framingham with a 3.06 GAA and .912 save percentage.

Live coverage of the game is available with livestats and streaming video at WestfieldStateOwls.com.  Westfield State students Randy Elfman, Joe DiBlasi and Rachel Grome have coverage of the game.