Corsairs, Penalties Sink Owls on Senior Night

WESTFIELD, Mass. – UMass Dartmouth center Michael Mania (Bayville, N.J.) broke a 1-1 tie in the third period with a power play goal as the Corsairs defeated Westfield State 3-1 in the MASCAC regular season finale and senior night from Amelia Park Arena in Westfield, Mass. on Saturday night.

The Owls finish the regular season with an overall record of 12-13 and an 8-10 conference mark, earning the seventh seed in the MASCAC Tournament playoffs. The Corsairs wrap up the regular season with an 11-13-1 record and an 8-9-1 league record.

Special teams played an important role in the outcome of tonight's game with three of the four goals scored in the contest coming on the man-advantage.

After a scoreless first period, the Owls tallied the first goal of the game on the power play. Raphael Seguin (Saint-Lazare, Quebec) cycled the puck to Christopher Miraldo (Montreal, Quebec) who fed a centering pass to a crashing Emile Tremblay (Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec) who tipped home his seventh goal of the season to make it 1-0 Owls with 12:17 left in the second period.

The Corsairs found the equalizer late in the second period with strong puck movement which led to an extra pass from Lane Ruffner (Latrobe, Penn.) to Johnny Ramoundos (Prevost, Quebec) who potted the puck into an open left side of the net with 1:01 left before the intermission.

In the third period, penalties began to mount for Westfield. A five-minute major penalty was assessed to Westfield 3:12 into the third period. The Owls penalty kill was sharp for the duration of the five-on-four time with the clock ticking under a minute left in the major penalty with the game still tied at 1-1. However, with just over 40 seconds left in the major penalty, a second penalty was given to the Owls, setting up a five-on-three chance for UMass Dartmouth where Mania would capitalize to put the Corsairs ahead 2-1 with 12:21 left in regulation.

Another Owls penalty halted their momentum in an effort to find a game-tying goal with UMass Dartmouth taking advantage of the infraction with Tyler Stewart (Pittsburgh, Penn.) collecting the loose puck within a slew of bodies where he would tuck a low shot inside the far post to double the Corsairs lead with 2:37 to go.

Westfield had a terrific chance to cut the deficit to one goal with 1:37 left but UMass Dartmouth goalie Graham Burke (Wilmington, Del.) made a spectacular glove save to rob Emile Pichette (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) of a goal.

The Owls held the Corsairs to just 12 shots on goal through the first two periods, but a combination of penalties and an effective offensive push from UMass Dartmouth saw the Corsairs pile up 15 shots in the third. Westfield held a slight 31-27 shot advantage in the contest. Aiden Winslow (Jacksonville, Fla.) made 23 saves for the Owls while Burke stopped 30 of 31 shots faced in the contest.

A total of 16 penalties were assessed in the game, eight to both sides.

Prior to puck drop, Westfield State recognized seniors Ryan Moorhouse (Westfield, Mass.) and Seguin for their contributions to the Owls ice hockey team.

The Owls and Corsairs will enter the MASCAC Tournament beginning next Thursday with the Corsairs earning the sixth seed while the Owls fell to the seventh seed. Opponents and times are still to be announced.

GAME NOTE: Thursday's suspended game between Westfield State and Fitchburg State will not be finished on Sunday as originally scheduled. The game will be deemed official after two periods as agreed upon by both sides as it has no impact on the MASCAC postseason playoff picture.