Westfield State 7, Worcester State 3
Westfield, MA --- Sophomore Pat Nelson (Cary, NC) scored four
goals to power Westfield State to a 7-4 victory over Worcester
State in MASCAC ice hockey action on Thursday evening.
Westfield State (13-8-3, 10-4-3 MASCAC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead,
including a goal 1:43 into the game by Jimmy Alexander (Braintree,
MA). Brandon Castro (Cranston, RI) and Nelson followed with goals
for a 3-0 advantage with seven minutes left in the first
period.
Worcester State (5-16-2, 3-12-2 MASCAC) rallied to tie the score
at 3-3. John Cahalane (Tewksbury, MA) scored with
six seconds remaining in the first period and Lee
Belisle (Chicopee, MA) tallied two goals in the second
stanza, the second coming at the 9:58 mark.
The Owls responded with three goals, including two by Nelson, in a
span of three minutes for a 6-3 lead after two periods. Also
scoring was freshman Danny Kaufman (Scotch Plains, NJ).
Worcester made it 6-4 on an Andrew Brady (Oreland, PA) goal 7:13
into the third period, but Nelson tacked on his fourth and final
goal on a power play with 2:16 remaining in the game.
Other top scorers for the Owls were freshman Lucas Romero (Ranco
Santa Margarita, CA) with four assists and junior Dennis Zak
(Dover, NJ) with three dishes.
The two squads were even in shots (37-37) while Westfield State was 2-for-3 with the extra man advantage.
Belisle's two goals put him at 48 points for his career as he is only two away from the 50 point club.
With UMass Dartmouth's 6-3 triumph over Framingham State this evening, the Corsairs jump ahead of the Lancers into fifth place while WSC drops to sixth.
If the Blue and Gold defeat Salem State on Saturday on Saturday and Fitchburg State defeats UMD, Worcester State would secure the fifth seed in the MASCAC tournament. If they lose against the Vikings in their 2 PM matchup against the Vikings, they would be the sixth seed.
Westfield State hosts Plymouth State in their season finale at 5:35 PM.
Major Portions of Release Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information