Lancers Unable to Complete Comeback over Owls

Worcester, MA - After adding a win to the column versus MCLA last Saturday, the Worcester State Men's Ice Hockey team (9-7-4, 2-4-3) is back on the road as they look to avenge their early-season loss to Westfield State.

Final

Worcester State: 2

Westfield State: 1

How it Happened:

Worcester State rounded out a dominant first twenty minutes. The Lancers were able to kill a Westfield penalty halfway through the first period despite the amount of shots seen and would end up having to make many stops to keep the goal from getting blown out by Worcester. The Lancers showcased their offensive capabilities after overcoming the initial pressure and generating a barrage of shots later in the first period, putting enough pressure on the Owls to keep him on his toes and force him to maintain his focus and play at a high level through the rest of the game as well. In addition, the Blue and Gold created a power play opportunity with the late penalty that Westfield would incur for hooking, which resulted in the Lancers ending the first period with a ton of momentum, lots of face-off wins and some very disciplined defensive play at both ends of the rink. 

Worcester State was resilient during the second period despite being faced with the early challenges of the period as they used good defensive discipline along with a lot of effort to respond. After scoring the power play goal the Lancers relied heavily on the strong play of goaltender junior Donovan Alfama (Douglas, MA), who kept Worcester in the game with many big saves. Offensively, Worcester put a lot of pressure on the other team by generating multiple scoring opportunities. The defense also contributed with many key shot blocks and faced many penalties and played a long time in the defensive zone. They were able to win critical faceoffs, limit second chances for the other team, and finish the period with a good effort and the momentum to continue into the next period.

The third was the decider with Westfield finding the back of the net for a 2-0 lead,  but sophomore Bryce Grandbois (Windsor, ON) would cut into the lead  just eight minutes into the game. Worcester would be unable to settle the score in the time remaining as they fell 2-1 to the Owls off of the 32 saves of Alfama.

What's Next:

The Blue and Gold (9-8-4, 2-5-3) return to home ice on Saturday at 6 pm for the Evan Armit "11 Fund" Game. A reception will be hosted before the game at Bay State Brewing, with all ticket sales and donations going to the creation of the endowment of the "11 Fund" in honor of student athlete Evan Armit, who passed away in August of 2025.