WESTFIELD, Mass. – After leading 4-3 at the end of two periods, the Southern New Hampshire University ice hockey team exploded for five third period goals to secure a 9-4, nonconference victory over Westfield State University at Amelia Park on Tuesday. The Penmen up their record to 7-7-1, while the Owls fall to 8-6.

The nine-goal output is the highest single-game goal total for Southern New Hampshire this season. The last time the Penmen registered nine goals in one game was on Nov. 17, 2007 in a 9-5 win over Framingham State College.

Westfield State opened up the scoring just over 13 minutes into the first when Dalton Jay tallied a shorthanded goal six seconds into a Southern New Hampshire powerplay. The Penmen responded just 48 seconds later, as senior Dane Caracino (Belmont, Mass.) collected his seventh goal of the season with help from classmate Bryan Wright (Reading, Mass.) and sophomore Jay Sylvia (Acushnet, Mass.) to make it 1-1 with 6:03 to play in the period.

Freshman Timothy Baylis (West Haven, Conn.) gave Southern New Hampshire its first lead of the contest with 4:17 remaining in the first. Senior Steven Berry (Ashburn, Va.) sprung Baylis behind the Owls' defense, and the Northeast-10 Rookie of the Week walked in all alone and buried his sixth of the year for a 2-1 Penmen advantage at the end of one.

Westfield State knotted up the score 1:11 into the second period when Donovan Gardiner notched his first goal of the season on the powerplay. Junior Anthony Laperriere (Winchendon, Mass.) regained the one-goal edge for Southern New Hampshire less than six minutes later when he tucked his fifth goal of the season past the Owls' netminder from freshman Matt McLelland (Reading, Mass.) and sophomore Nathan Bergeron (Auburn, Maine).

The Penmen pushed their lead to a pair with 6:21 left in the middle frame when Caracino struck for his second powerplay goal of the night. After breaking in on a 2-on-1 opportunity with Sylvia, the senior captain collected the final pass before deking out the Westfield State goaltender to make it 4-2 Southern New Hampshire. The Owls answered back 11 second later when Jackson Leaf found the back of the net to send the teams to the locker rooms with the score 4-3 in favor of the Penmen.

Southern New Hampshire opened up the five-goal third with two goals during the first 37 seconds of play. Junior Joe Collins (Mansfield, Mass.) tallied his team-leading ninth goal of the year just five seconds in when he rifled home a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle. Freshman Sam Jenkins (Dartmouth, Mass.) gave the Penmen a 6-3 lead with 19:23 left in regulation when he netted the first goal of his career off a feed from Collins.

Freshman Kyle Valliere (Goffstown, N.H.) made it a 7-3 game with 13:39 to go when he cashed in his fifth of the season off an assist from Wright. After Westfield State trimmed the Southern New Hampshire lead to three goals 38 seconds later, Berry beat the Owls' keeper with a well placed wrist shot to make it 8-4. Berry provided the final margin of victory three minutes later when he converted a penalty shot opportunity for his fifth goal of the year.

Berry (2G, 1A), Collins (1G, 2A) and Sylvia (3A) each registered three points to lead the Penmen offense. Caracino chipped in with a pair of goals, and Wright added two assists in the win. Freshman Ryan Slatky (Manchester, N.H.) turned aside 25 shots in goal for Southern New Hampshire to earn his fourth win of the season.

Ian Perrier and Ethan Wood combined to stop 27 shots for the Owls in the setback, while Leaf posted a multipoint outing with a goal and an assist. 

The Penmen return to action on Saturday when they host Assumption College for a Northeast-10 Conference showdown at 7:30 p.m. Westfield State resumes its schedule on Thursday when it travels to Salem State University for a conference clash with the Vikings at 7 p.m.

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