Westfield, MA --- Westfield State erupted for four third-period goals, including three in the final eight minutes to erase a 3-1 deficit and rally the Owls to a 4-3 victory over Worcester State in MASCAC men's ice hockey action this evening.
The Owls evened their conference record at 4-4 in the MASCAC and improved to 8-6 overall. Worcester is now 1-7 in league play and 4-10.
The Lancers jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period on goals by sophomore Nathan Stanley (Medriden, ID) and freshman Joe White (Wonder Lake, IL).
After a scoreless second period, the Owls finally lit the lamp 5:59 into the third stanza on sophomore TJ Powers' (E. Greenwich, RI) team-leading sixth goal of the season.
It looked bleak for the Owls when Worcester got back its 3-1 lead 58 seconds later on a short handed tally from Stanley.
But Westfield State had the last laugh as they answered the call by completing the comeback.
Second-year Steve Evans (Kingston, Ontario) scored with 7:49 remaining in the game and junior Vince Perreault (Breaside, Ontario) tied the score, 3-3, 28 seconds later.
Freshman PJ McCadden (Mount Sinai, NY) tacked on the game-winning tally with a power play goal with 3:54 remaining.
Worcester State outshot Westfield State, 30-27, with second-year Owl goalie Ian Perrier (Whitehorse, Yukon) recording 27 saves. Junior Taylor Fant (Boise, ID) stopped 28 shots for the Lancers.
Major Portions of Release Courtesy of Worcester State Sports Information