The Keene State Men’s Ice Hockey team was back in action to earn a win on Thursday, Nov. 7, in a battle of the Owls against Westfield State University.
The first period saw no scoring, but plenty of chances for each team. Keene’s first-year goaltender Ben Skelton and Westfield’s netminder Aiden Winslow were able to turn down every shot they faced. The opening frame saw three penalties, all minor calls, with two against Keene State and the other against Westfield.
Westfield’s Jesper Seeberg was called for a major penalty around twelve minutes into the second period for a hit from behind. The game’s first tally came a minute later, as first-year forward Thor Hansen deflected fellow first-year defenseman Sean McBride’s blast from the point, beating Winslow over his right shoulder for a power-play goal to put the Owls up 1-0.
KSC was able to pick up an insurance goal about halfway through the third period, as junior defenseman Declan House banked a pass off the boards out of the zone to first-year forward Luke Festa, who found himself on a breakaway. Winslow came way out of his net and Festa was able to maneuver around him, giving himself a wide-open net.
Westfield managed to answer back with around four minutes to play in regulation, as Cooper Board flicked a backhand shot from the hash marks that found a way through Skelton, who was perfect up to this point. Keene State was able to eliminate any more Westfield chances, as well as add one more goal with an empty-net tally by first-year forward Kyle Gonzalez with 13 seconds remaining to make it a 3-1 game.
The Owls recorded their first ever NCAA Division III win in program history, as they continue to look to ride this momentum further into the season. Their next game is at home against UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov 16, at 3:30 p.m.
Teddy Steinberg can be contacted at
tsteinberg@kscequinox.com
