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Courtesy UMass Dartmouth Sports Information

NEW BEDFORD, MA-Senior forward Mike Owens (South Boston, MA/Boston Jr. Bulldogs-AtJHL) scored three goals and junior goaltender Ryan Williams (Milton, ON/ Huntsville Otters-OPJHL) made 34 saves to lead the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's hockey team to a 4-2 victory over visiting Westfield State, in their Massachusetts Collegiate Athletic Conference quarter-final playoff game at the Stephan Hetland Memorial Ice Arena Saturday.

Owens scored the Corsairs' final three goals of the game, including an empty-netter that clinched the decision with 16 seconds remaining.

Freshman forward Shaun Walters (Plymouth, MI/Rochester Ice hawks-MNJHL) gave UMass Dartmouth an early lead, flipping the rebound of a shot by junior forward Greg Girtatos (Tyngsboro, MA/Bishop Guertin HS) past WSU sophomore goaltender Eddie Davey (Orangeville, ON/Abitibi Eskimos) just 48 seconds after the opening faceoff. Owens scored the next two goals for the Corsairs, scoring from point-blank range after senior forward Rob Dudley (Douglas, MA/Middlesex School) won an offensive zone face-off with 30 seconds left in the second period. He made it 3-0 when he poked the puck past Davey from a scramble in front of the net at8:17 of the third period.

The Owls rallied, getting on the board when sophomore defenseman Billy Miller's (Morgan Hill, CA/Alexandria Blizzard) shot from the point was deflected first by junior forward Jason Nelson (Raleigh, NC/Springfield Jr. Falcons), and then by freshman forward Steve Evans (Kingston, ON/Wellington Dukes) for a power play goal at 9:45. Freshman forward Frank Zuccaro (Newmarket, ON/Orangeville Flyers) deflected home junior defenseman Jeff Callahan's (Londonderry, NH/Valley Jr. Warriors) shot at 11:21 to cut UMD's advantage to 3-2. But the Corsairs weathered the storm, with Williams making a couple of clutch saves before Owens scored into the empty net at 19:44.

"Goals scored at the end of periods and at the start of periods are usually significant, and that was the case tonight," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach John Rolli. "We played with a lot of energy, in a game in which both teams had everything on the line. Mike Owens had a great game and showed why he is one of the top players in our league. All in all, it was a good effort. Now, we have to travel Tuesday night to take on a very talented Salem State team."

UMass Dartmouth improved to 16-8-2 with the victory, while Westfield State fell to 7-14-5 with the defeat. UMass Dartmouth advanced to the semi-finals and will visit second-seeded Salem State Tuesday night. The game was the final action of the season for Westfield State.

Courtesy Fitchburg State Sports Information

FITCHBURG, Mass. (February 25, 2012)– Fourth-seeded Fitchburg State University suffered a 4-1 loss to fifth-seeded Worcester State University in quarterfinal action of the 2011-12 MASCAC Ice Hockey Tournament.

The victory marked the first playoff win since the 1976-77 season (7-5, Framingham State) for Worcester State as it improves to 9-13-3 on the season and advances to Tuesday’s semifinal round vs. Plymouth State at 6 p.m. Fitchburg State concludes its season with an overall record of 9-13-4 and an 8-7-2 mark in the MASCAC.

Worcester State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead midway through the first period as senior captain Nick Asterito (Philadelphia, Pa./Valley Forge Minutemen) hit home for the Lancers first goal of the game. Asterito connected with unassisted marker at the 11:04 mark, tallying his sixth score of the season for the first period advantage.

In the second, Fitchburg State rallied back, using a goal from junior Curtis Nikitas (Leominster, Mass./Saint Bernards) just 5:12 into the period. Nikitas netted his third goal of the year, taking feeds from freshman Carlo DiPiazza (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) and senior Spencer Syvertson (Wasilla, AK/Minnesota-Crookston),but Worcester State regained the lead less than three minutes later with a marker from Derek Serbon (Crown Point, Ind./Tulsa Rampage).

After nearly 15 minutes of scoreless play in the third period, Worcester State sealed its MASCAC semifinal fate, collecting back-to-back scores late in the frame. Freshman Vinny Bohn (Spring Hill, Fla./El Paso Rhinos) gave the Lancers a 3-1 edge with his first career post-season marker at the 14:38 mark, while senior Tim D’Orazio (Jamison, Pa./Valley Forge Minutemen) iced the game with an empty netter just four minutes later.

Worcester State battled Fitchburg State all contest despite being out-shot 32-26 in the match. Senior goaltender Bryan Kalczynski (Tonawanda, N.Y./Erie Community) was solid between the pipes for the Lancers, totaling 31 saves in his complete game effort, while senior Bobby Leiser (Monroe, N.Y./New York Applecore) stopped 23 shots for the Falcons.