Owls Fall In OT Shootout

WESTFIELD., Mass. –   Salem State's Landon Greatorex scored the lone goal of the shootout to give the Vikings a shootout win over Westfield State after the two schools skated to 1-1 tie through regulation and a five minute overtime.

Greatorex slowly circled in in the shootout and lifted a shot to the stick side past Westfield State goaltender Aidan Winslow as the third shooter in the shootout.  Westfield State had the chance to extend the shootout, but Salem State's Will Nepveu stymied the Owls' Emile Pichette to give the Vikings the shootout win and the extra point in the league standings.

Salem (7-13-4 overall, 5-5-3 MASCAC) got 51 saves in net from Nepveu to secure the win.

The Vikings got on the board first with a goal from Eric Whitelaw on the power play with just three seconds left in the first period.

Westfield (15-7-2, 8-3-2 MASCAC) equalized with a power play tally of their own when Pichette found the back of the net from the slot at the 6:17 mark of the second period.

Both teams had their chances in the third, when a parade to the penalty box gave both teams a pair of power play attempts, but neither could muster a go-ahead goal.

In the overtime, Westfield started the period with a 4 on 3 power play, then Salem had a minute of 4 on 3 to close the extra frame.

Winslow made 25 saves for the Owls.

The loss was costly for the Owls, who now sit three points behind Fitchburg State in the conference standings after tonight's games.  The Falcons fell to MCLA, 4-0 tonight, but Fitchburg sealed up the number two seed when the Owls couldn't secure the extra point in the OT.   Westfield will travel to Fitchburg on Saturday for the final game of the regular season, but the Falcons hold a tie breaker edge on the Owls if Westfield is able to defeat the Falcons to pull into a tie for second in the regular-season points tally.