Western New England University

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 29, 2026) – A rematch of what some may say was the conference's game of the season took place in the CNE semifinals on Wednesday. WNE hosted Hartford, and from the start, it was a battle. Nine goals were scored in the first quarter alone, with WNE ahead 5-4. The Hawks took an 8-6 lead into halftime before the Golden Bears scored nine in the second half and took the contest 15-12 to move to the conference championship.

Records:
Western New England: 12-6 (8-1)
University of Hartford: 11-6 (7-2)

How it Happened:
First Quarter:

• The opening quarter saw the teams trade shots like punches in a heavyweight fight. Logan Jenkins found Thomas Labbe 39 seconds into the game to give WNE a 1-0 lead. 1:20 later, Jacob Roy assisted a Dylan Nardone goal, and almost a minute and a half later, Kevin Morina uncorked a shot to extend the lead to 3-0.
• Logan Proctor found Thomas Labbe for Labbe's second goal of the game and 20th of the season. WNE had a 4-0 lead. Hartford hit back with a Colin Reilly goal off a Michael Novotny assist, and the score was 4-1. Labbe's hat trick extended the Golden Bear lead back to four. Roy had the feed that led to the goal.
• Down 5-1, the Hawks would go on a 7-1 run to end the first half, and three of those goals would end the first. Nick Ugolini scored with 6:58 left. Then, it was Michael Novotny with his second goal of the game before Trent Beggs netted his fifth of the season. Hartford trailed 5-4 after the first.
• A back-and-forth first quarter saw the Golden Bears dominate on the stat sheet. They had more shots (15-6), shots on goal (10-4), more ground balls (10-7), and more faceoff wins (8-2).

Second Quarter:

• Max Rudgers opened the scoring for WNE a minute into the contest. It was an unassisted goal.
• Colin Reilly then started a rally for the Hawks, which turned into four second-quarter goals. Shaun Wright assisted Reilly. Reilly scored another goal unassisted before Gavin Pelletier scored his 25th of the season.
• Aidan Ezra then scored with eleven seconds left in the half, and the Hawks led 8-6 at halftime. The second quarter's stats would seem to swing towards the Hawks, but not as much as one may think. WNE still led in overall shots (11-9), but Hartford had more shots on goal (6-4). Hartford had more ground balls (9-5), and the faceoffs were tied (3-3).

Third Quarter:

• WNE took the hits from the Hawks in the first half and fired them back in the second. They started the third with three consecutive goals. Labbe scored his fourth off a Josh Gagnon assist. Then, Logan Jenkins found Jacob Roy before Roy returned the favor and found Jenkins for the third goal of the second half. Roy then found the goal one more time with 7:41 left in the third quarter. WNE had flipped the script and led 10-8.
• With 47 seconds left in the quarter, Nick Ugolini started a two-goal run to end the third for the Hawks. Ugolini scored, and then with no time left in the quarter, Shaun Wright found Michael Novotny for the goal.
• The score was tied 10-10 going into the fourth and final quarter. WNE re-established dominance in the third as they had more shots (13-4), shots on goal (7-4), ground balls (11-4), and faceoffs (4-2).

Fourth Quarter:

• With a spot in the conference championship game on the line, Chris Catuosco won the opening faceoff, and 26 seconds later, Jacob Roy found Max Rudgers for the lead. A lead they would not give back.
• Rudgers found Josh Gagnon with 12:43 left in the contest to double WNE's lead before Ugolini cut the lead in half with nine minutes remaining. Labbe answered back with his fifth goal of the game 44 seconds later. Then, it was the first-year Logan Proctor extending the lead to three with 6:49 left.
• Ugolini gave the Hawks one last chance to celebrate with a goal almost a minute after Proctor's, but Gagnon would score off a dish from Rudgers, and WNE's 15-12 lead would stand for the rest of the contest after some saves from Jeffrey Wojtowicz in goal.
• WNE won the game and earned the right to battle with Endicott College one more time for the championship. The stats show the Golden Bears win the shot battle (48-27) and shots on goal (27-19). WNE were more aggressive in scooping up ground balls (38-30) and won the faceoff battle (19-11). Hartford had more saves (12-7).

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears defeated the Hawks 15-12 on Wednesday evening.
• Jacob Roy led the Golden Bears on offense with six points (two goals and four assists).
• Thomas Labbe added five goals to his season total, and Max Rudgers picked up four more points.
• Jack Gara led the defense with five caused turnovers and three ground balls.
• Chris Catuosco went 17-27 from the faceoff spot.
• Nick Ugolini had four goals to lead the Hawks in their offensive end.
• Jeffrey Wojtowicz made seven saves to earn the win for WNE.

Coach's Corner:
Coach John Klepacki spoke with a member of the sports information team after the win. He was asked what the conversation with the team was at halftime, down 8-6, to spark the comeback in the second half. "I just think we went back to what we talked about in the locker room about just being consistent. I thought we came out in the first quarter strong, and we just went back to our fundamentals. I think the guys made really good decisions in making some team plays, and we capitalized on it," stated coach Klepacki. Then, he was asked what it will take to get the win at Endicott College on Saturday. "I think it is very similar to tonight. It's gonna be a 60-minute game, and making team decisions over individual decisions is a big part of it, and enjoying the environment. Having a good time in that type of game," Klepacki answered.
Thomas Labbe, who scored five goals for WNE in the win, and Max Rudgers, who recorded four points in the game, spoke after the contest. Thomas Labbe was first to speak and was asked what he attributed his five-goal performance to. "I just think that we played together as a team. We came out hot, stuck five right away, and were just moving the ball and playing with each other. I was just lucky enough to be in the right spots and have the opportunity to can those. That was a tough team. They're competitors, so they fought back, but never a doubt in the guys. We all believe in each other, and I'm glad we came out on top," Labbe mentioned. Labbe was then asked what it was like in the second half as they started to build momentum and pick up speed since they went into halftime down 8-6 and had to rally around each other. Labbe stated, "Yeah, once we started potting a few in the second half, just talking to each other about not (getting) too high or not too low, like our coach likes to say. Just building off each play and keeping it simple. One play at a time. Don't overstep, don't try to do too much, and just play together, and good things happen". Max Rudgers then spoke about his two-goal, two-assist performance this evening. "Coach has been talking to us all week about knowing it's going to be a dog fight… He's just holding me to a higher standard, and I really appreciate that from him. We knew it was gonna be a dog fight. We went to overtime with them earlier in the year, so this is what we were expecting. We knew it was gonna be back and forth, and I am really proud of us and how we battled," stated Rudgers. He was then asked what it would take to win the championship at Endicott College. "I think another performance just like this. From the goalie play to our defense, to our faceoff, to the midfield, and our attack. I think we all played our game. We played how coach wants us to, and it's gonna take another performance just like that," noted Rudgers.
Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE is CNE Championship game-bound. They will travel to Endicott College for a showdown with the number-one-seeded Gulls on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at noon.