WEST SRPINGFIELD, Mass. (November 18, 2021) – After surrendering the game's first goal, the Western New England University Golden Bears men's ice hockey team tied the game in the first period before allowing three third period goals to drop the CCC match against the visiting Endicott College Gulls from Olympia Ice Center on Thursday afternoon in a rare matinee for WNE. 

Records:

• Western New England: 3-3 (2-3 CCC)
• Endicott College: 4-1-1 (3-1-1 CCC)

How it Happened:

Western New England and Endicott came running out of the gates putting shots on goal, though both goalkeepers, Conor O'Brien for Endicott, and Colten Lancaster for Western New England, came up big to keep the game scoreless for the first five minutes. Seven minutes into the contest Endicott would get on the board first when Noah Strawn finished at the doorstep to give the Gulls the 1-0 lead. Andrew Kurapov and Kevin Craig would both tally assists on the play after taking two shots on goal that Lancaster made saves on, though Straw would bank in a rebound to give his team the 1-0 lead. 

The Golden Bears would respond late in the first period when John D'Aniello tallied his first goal of the season. After a faceoff win from Lliam Christiano, Shane Miller sent a pass over to Jordan Giacomin who took a shot on goal that was initially saved by O'Brien, though D'Aniello slashed in a rebound chance to even the game at one. Endicott would outshoot the Golden Bears 15-6 in the first period of play. 

No scoring would come of the second period as Lancaster came away with 13 saves in the period as the Gulls took the shot advantage again 13-4. 

Endicott would come out strong in the third period and grab the tie breaking goal when Zach Mazur would cut towards the goal and take a shot that deflected off a Western New England defender and into the net. Svet Kuchynski and Andrew Kurapov would get assists for the Gulls on their second of the afternoon. Exactly eight minutes later, Endicott would score their third of the game when Connor Amsley was able to take a shot that got under the blocker of Lancaster and into the goal. Endicott would score their fourth and final score of the afternoon when Drew Lorinchak found goal on assists from Connor Beatty and Ryan Gaulin to seal the deal for the Gulls. Endicott would take 20 third period shots while WNE took just eight in the period, falling to the Gulls by a final score of 4-1. 

Inside the Crease: 

• Both Western New England and Endicott were 0/3 on the powerplay in the contest, while neither team came away with a shorthanded goal in the game. 
• Endicott took 48 shots in the win, while Colten Lancaster came away with 44 saves. Lancaster has three games this season with 40 or more saves, with this afternoon's tally being his season high. 
• John D'Aniello scored his first goal of the season after scoring three goals in 25 games during the 2019-2020 season. D'Aniello has five points on the season and is a +2 on the ice. 
• Andrew Kurapov had two helpers in the win for the Gulls. Kurapov now has three goals and four assists for Endicott on the season, both good for team leads.
• With today's win, goaltender Conor O'Brien becoems the winningest goalie in Endicott College's history (38-13-3). 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Both teams will meet at Raymond J. Bourque Arena on Saturday, November 20 at 6:30 pm before taking a short pause for the Thanksgiving holiday break.