Owls Skate for MASCAC Title Saturday

WESTFIELD, Mass. –   Westfield State men's ice hockey will play in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship game for the first time, when the third-seeded Owls travel to Auburn, Mass. to play top-seeded Anna Maria at Horgan Arena on Saturday, March 7 at 6:40 p.m.

The winner earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.  Both teams are looking for their first-ever bid in the big dance.

Westfield is 17-8-2 this season, the most wins by the program since it returned to varsity status in the 2008-09 season.

Anna Maria enters the game 19-5-2 overall and was 13-1-1 in the conference regular season.

The AmCats defeated the Owls in both previous meetings this season, topping the Owls 7-3 in Auburn before the semester break, and 5-3 at Amelia Park Arena in Westfield on Feb. 12.   Westfield led 2-1 and 3-2 in the February matchup before the AmCats rallied with a pair of goals in a 2:05 span late in the second period.

Westfield advanced to the championship game with a mild upset in the semifinals, as captain Cooper Board scored the game-winner in overtime in a 4-3 win at #2 Fitchburg State.

Anna Maria held off #6 MCLA, 3-2 in overtime.  Nolan Ring scored the game tying goal with about eight minutes left in regulation, then added the game winner in OT to send the AmCats to the title game.

Westfield has had a balanced scoring attack, led by 10 goals each from junior forward Emile Pichette and first-year Cannon Bonifay.  The Owls have nine players with seven or more goals on the season.

Senior defenseman Raphael Seguin is the Owls' other captain and has contributed four goals and 16 assists from the blueline.  Four of the Owls top six defensemen are seniors, with the veteran presence helping spark the late season run where Westfield allowed just one goal in a four game stretch to close the regular season and open tournament play.

Between the pipes, sophomore Aiden Winslow has backstopped the Owls playoff run, shutting out Worcester State in the first round, before making 41 saves in the win over Fitchburg State.  He is 14-5-2 on the season with a 2.46 GAA and a .919 save percentage.

Westfield has scored at a 25 percent clip on the power play, while killing 81.4 percent of opponent opportunities.

Anna Maria is in just their second season in the MASCAC.  The AmCats topped the Owls in the opening round of the tournament a year ago, but then were upset by MCLA in the semifinals, so AMC also plays in their first-ever MASCAC Championship game.

Forwards Braeden McKinnon and Owen Barrow lead the AmCats with 14 goals each this season.  Pearce Baker has dished out 19 assists from the blueline.

The AmCats have been tops in the league on special teams, where they are 25.3 percent on the power play, while the penalty kill has been even better at 88.3 percent.

One of the reasons is that junior Matthew Hennessey has been one of the top netminders in the conference all season long, he has posted a 1.91 GAA and a .941 save percentage with a 16-3-2 mark as the goalkeeper of record.  He came up with 43 saves against the Owls in the Feb. 12 win.

Westfield is looking for their first post-season title, of any variety, since the Owls won the 1978 ECAC Division III Championship.    The program was discontinued after the 1989 season, before returning as a club sport in the late 1990's before the eventual resumption of the varsity program in 2008 after a fundraising campaign led by Owls hockey alumni, including the Owls most notable alumnus, Stanley Cup-winning head coach Peter Laviolette '86.   Laviolette was a longtime professional player, including a short stint with the New York Rangers, before starting a long coaching career with stops with the Islanders,  Carolina Hurricanes, where his team won the 2006 Stanley Cup, Philadelphia, Nashville, and the Rangers.

Tickets for the game are $7 for adults, $5 for students, seniors and children under 12 are admitted free.  Tickets will be sold at the door.

For those who can't attend, you can follow the game on live stats at WestfieldStateOwls.com or watch live via Anna Maria's feed at MASCAC.tv on web, Roku, Amazon Fire or AppleTV.