WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University men's ice hockey team suffered a 4-1 defeat Saturday evening against Westfield State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action at the Worcester Ice Center.

With the loss, Worcester State drops to 5-7-1 overall on the season and 3-4-0 in MASCAC play. Westfield State improves to 6-3-4 and 4-1-2 in league play.

The teams played a scoreless opening 20 minutes, with the Lancers outshooting the visitors 8-3. Worcester State was sharp defensively in the period, blocking 11 shots and killing the stanza's only penalty.

Senior F.X. Girard scored the only goal of the second period to give Westfield State the 1-0 lead. Linemates John-Michael DiGregorio and Robert Neuwirth assisted on Girard's eighth goal of the season.

Skating shorthanded, Westfield extended its lead to two just under three minutes into the third, when Neuwirth went end-to-end before ripping a shot high to the glove side past Worcester State goaltender Nevin Tardif (Dunstable, Mass.).

Freshman Kevin Drevitch (Oxford, N.J.) cut into the Owl lead at the 11:18 mark of the third, netting his fourth goal of the season. The rookie put home a rebound opportunity for the tally, with assists credited to freshmen Petr Staif (Zruc-Senec, Czech Republic) and Deiter Stange (Niles, Ill.). Westfield State answered quickly however, as DiGregorio found the back of the net on the power play just over a minute and a half later, followed by a Danny Ferri insurance marker to ice the contest for Westfield.

Tardif was credited with his first collegiate loss, despite making 25 saves on the evening. Westfield's Thierry Messervier got the victory with a 35-save outing.

Neuwirth, Girard, and DiGregorio were named the game's three stars following the contest.

Next up for the Lancers, they will return to action on Thursday with a road contest against MASCAC foe UMass Dartmouth. Westfield returns to the ice the same evening, traveling to Salem State for a conference matchup.

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