MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Owls kicked off Little East Conference play on Saturday afternoon, as they traveled down to take on Eastern Connecticut State University at Rick McCarthy Field. The Owls took advantage of their 17 days since their previous game, as they dominated the Warriors, 14-8.

Records

• Keene State: 2-5
• Eastern Connecticut State: 3-6

How it Happened

Giacomo Tedone got the Owls on the board first, as he scored off a pass from Jeff Wiedenfeld, 1:39 into the contest. After ECSU won the ensuing faceoff, Tanner Drobish knotted the game up at one apiece for the Warriors, 43 seconds after Tedone's goal. Charlie Giuliotti made a pair of saves on the Warriors' next two shots, but he was unable to stop the following two, as Mike Stevenson scored with 5:55 left and just over a minute later, Drobish tallied another goal to put the Warriors up, 3-1. The Owls were unable to score the rest of the opening quarter, as Gregory Hilinski made three saves in net for ECSU, which translated to the Warriors' increasing their lead to three on the other side of the field from a late goal from Brycen Kennedy to put ECSU up 4-1 heading into the second quarter.
 
The Owls came out in the second quarter hot, as they opened with four consecutive goals, before ECSU was able to score. Following a save in net from Giuliotti, Wiedenfeld tallied another point, this time from a goal for KSC, coming from Jack Ansart, 2:32 into the second. A few minutes later, the Owls capitalized on their first extra-man opportunity of the day, as Wiedenfeld assisted on a man-up goal scored by Rex Maccarini to bring the Owls to within a goal with 8:35 left in the half. Maccarini picked up another point on the next KSC goal, as two minutes later, the Owls scored another man-up goal, this time coming from Ansart to tie the game up at four apiece. Jack Ricci won the ensuing faceoff for the Owls, which resulted in the Sebastian Foresi assisting Wiedenfeld for a goal, to put the Owls back ahead, 5-4, just 35 seconds after Ansart's goal. With 3:54 left in the first half, ECSU tied the game up at five from another goal from Stevenson, but Colby Quiet retook the lead for the Owls shortly after, giving KSC a 6-5 lead. The Owls held onto their lead going into halftime, thanks to Giuliotti making a save in net and a shot from Kennedy ringing off the post for the Warriors.
 
Keene State increased their lead to three with two goals in the opening 4:53 of the second half. The first of the pair came from an Aidan Donohue caused turnover for the Owls, leading to Jaheim Lancaster collecting the ground ball, and Colby Cala assisting Wiedenfeld for his third goal of the game. After his caused turnover led to the previous KSC goal, Donohue scored the next goal for the Owls, the first of his collegiate career, putting KSC up 8-5. ECSU won the following faceoff, as the Warriors answered Donohue's goal with a goal of their own, from Sean Filley, just 37 seconds later. Filley's goal was the only one scored by ECSU in the third quarter, as the Owls scored two more goals to end the quarter, just as they did to open the quarter. The first of the two came from Ty Cougler causing a turnover from Hilinski, on a failed clear attempt for ECSU, which led to Dylan Seymour scoring for KSC shortly after, with 4:30 remaining in the third. Then with 1:35 left to play in the third, Keane Stanton had to enter as goalkeeper for the Warriors, as Hilinski was called for a slashing penalty. KSC capitalized on the extra-man opportunity for the third time in as many chances in the contest, as with a minute left in the quarter, Maccarini assisted Ansart on the man-up goal, just like the previous man-up opportunity, this time putting KSC up 10-6 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
 
Both Giuliotti and Hilinski (who re-entered the game following the Owls' previous goal) made a save for their team to open the fourth quarter. Maccarini opened the scoring in the final quarter for his second goal of the game, this time coming from Lancaster, 2:46 into the fourth. Jack Theriault won the ensuing faceoff for the Owls, which led to an offensive possession for KSC and a goal from Tedone, as the Owls doubled up the Warriors, 12-6. ECSU tried to start a comeback after Quinn O'Connor scored with 8:23 remaining, but the Owls shut it down with two goals over the next 2:05. Following a save from Hilinski, Seymour picked up the ground ball and shot it past him for the 13th goal for KSC, while the 14th goal came just seven seconds later, after Theriault won the faceoff, and pushed the ball up the field, resulting in Seymour assisting Wiedenfeld for his fourth goal of the day. The Warriors tallied the final goal of the day, after Giuliotti made two saves in net, Connor Chirico fired a shot past him with 47 seconds left, bringing the final score to 14-8 for the Owls. 
 
Inside the Crease

• With the win, the Owls improve to 24-17 in the all-time series against the Warriors, having won the previous 15 meetings with an average goal differential of 11 goals.
• Wiedenfeld led the Owls on the attack with a game-high of six points, from four goals and a pair of assists.
• Four other Owls tallied at least two goals, as Maccarini, Ansart, Seymour, and Tedone all combining for as many goals as the Warriors.
• Giuliotti made 10 saves in net for KSC, with a .556 SV%, while Hilinski made 12 saves for a .480 SV% for ECSU.
• The Owls had their best offensive game of the season today, as their 14 goals are the most scored in their seven games to open the season.
• KSC went a perfect 3-3 on extra-man opportunities, as they scored three goals on four shot attempts. ECSU went 0-4 with four shots on their extra-man opportunities.

 
Up Next


Keene State's next game will be their first LEC away game of the season, as they will travel to Massachusetts Maritime on Saturday, March 30, at 4 PM.
Eastern Connecticut State will also play in their first away LEC game for their next contest, as the Warriors will take on Salem State on Saturday, March 30, at 4 PM.