WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 29, 2021) – Colten Lancaster made 40 saves on 41 shot attempts as the Western New England University men's ice hockey team returned to the ice for the first time since February 23, 2020, a span of 614 days, before taking down the Westfield State University Owls 3-1 from the Olympia Ice Center on Friday night. 

Records:

• Western New England: 1-0 
• Westfield State: 0-1

How it Happened: 

After a hiatus of ice hockey for the Golden Bears, Western New England returned to the ice, picking up the game's first goal with just less than six minutes to go in the period. After team captain Nolan Zweep sent the puck up to Jordan Giacomin, Giacomin skated into the right-side circle and left a drop pass to Sam Mitchell who ripped a shot up and over the glove of GK Valtteri Valtonen and into the net to give Western New England their first goal of the season, and their first of the game to go up 1-0. 

After one period of play, WNE would keep their one goal lead. Lancaster came away with 15 first period saves, while Valtonen made eight saves on nine Golden Bears shots on goal. Western New England would take a two-goal lead late in the second period. Lliam Christiano and John D'Aniello would work board play with each other before D'Aniello made a pass to teammate Kyle Knight who took the puck to goal and was able to shove the puck past the Owls goalkeeper, doubling the lead for Western New England. Knight tallies his first carrer goal with Western New England, giving the Golden Bears the 2-0 lead. 

Just 52 seconds later, the Golden Bears would again find twine as Marko Bohatiuk would bury a chance at the goal. Shane Miller made a quick pass to the stick of Jordan Giacomin who took a shot on goal that was initially saved by Westfield State, though Bohatiuk was on the door step for Western New England to cash in on his first goal as a Golden Bear to give WNE the 3-0 lead. Bohatiuk records his fourth career goal with Western New England to increase the lead. Lancaster continued his dominance between the pipes, making an additional 13 saves in the second period. 

Looking to spark a comeback, the Owls would score their first goal of the game just three minutes into the third period on the powerplay. Mathieu Jones made a cross ice pass to Paul Frys who was able to score for Westfield State, breaking the shutout for Lancaster, giving WNE their two-goal lead back. Although the Owls would outshoot Western New England 13-6 in the third period, Lancaster would come away with 12 third period saves, marking 40 on the night to secure the victory for Western New England.  

Inside the Crease:

• Colten Lancaster made 40 saves in the win for Western New England. Lancaster picks up his first career win sporting a Western New England uniform. His 40 save performance marks his second highest total of his career (2/15/19, 45 at University of New England). 
• Billy Hefferle was 12-19 on the faceoff dot in the win for WNE. Western New England was 33-55 as a team. 
• Knight, Bohatiuk, and Mitchell each tallied goals while Giacomin added two assists for Western New England in the teams first win since November 26, 2019. 
• Head coach Mike Young wins debut game as a Golden Bear in his first season with the team. 
• WNE was whistled for 25 minutes of penalties in the game, while Westfield State marked ten minutes in penalties in their loss. 

Up Next on the Schedule: 

• Western New England entertains Curry College on Friday, November 5 at 7:00 pm from Olympia Ice Center in their first conference game of the season. 
• Westfield State opens their home schedule against Post University on Tuesday, November 2 for a 7:35 pm puck drop from Amelia Park.