North Adams, Mass. (November 21, 2023) - The Men's Ice Hockey team headed to North Adams, Massachusetts, for a contest with the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Trailblazers. The Trailblazers would score late in the first period. They would notch one more in the second before giving up a goal to the Golden Bears shortly after. Then, MCLA scored three in the third period and beat the Golden Bears 5-1.

• Western New England: 2-6-1 (1-4-1)
• Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts: 2-4-1 (0-4-1)

How it Happened:

The first period started with Anthony Aureliano in goal for the Golden Bears, and Landry Laird started in goal for the Trailblazers. Matty Zdanowicz got the faceoff win for the Golden Bears during the opening puck drop. The game started with both teams going back and forth with shots. Both goalies made saves, along with the defense forcing the other team to send shots wide of the net. The game's first penalty was called against the Golden Bears with 4:39 left in the first period. After the Trailblazers won the ensuing faceoff, the puck was passed to Connor Nagy, who passed the puck to Luke Rhoss. Rhoss sent the puck over to Quinn Murphy. Murphy sent a wrist shot at the top-left corner of the net, and it hit the twine to give the Trailblazers the 1-0 lead. With 2:17 left in the opening period, the Golden Bears were called for another penalty, and the Trailblazers were back on the power play. MCLA had two shots during the power play, with one on goal. Aureliano would make the save. The Golden Bears had a shorthanded shot during the MCLA power play, but it was saved by Laird. Shortly after the second WNE penalty was completed, the first period ended. After one period of play, the shots on goal were 16-8 in favor of the Golden Bears. However, MCLA led in faceoffs 17-11 and were one for two on the power play. The Trailblazers led 1-0 after the first period.

Matty Zdanowicz won the opening faceoff to start the second period. However, it only took twenty-five seconds into the period for MCLA to double their lead. After a shot from Quinn Murphy was saved, Addam Brunner was there to send the puck back at net, and this time, it went into the back of the net to give the Trailblazers a 2-0 lead. Twenty-seven seconds later, the Golden Bears went on the power play. The Golden Bears had two shots on goal before Owen Schmidt cut the Trailblazer lead in half with a power play goal. Sam Mitchell sent a pass along the boards to Matt Dougherty, who passed it out to Schmidt. Schmidt sent a quick shot past the goalie, and the score was 2-1 Trailblazers with 18:10 left in the second period. The teams then went back to back-and-forth action. Both teams got shot after shot off. However, both goalies kept making saves, and the defenses held the opposing team to wide shots. The second period continued without a penalty or goal for the rest of the time remaining in the second. After two periods of play, the Golden Bears had 24 shots on goal compared to the Trailblazers' 16. MCLA still led in faceoffs 28-15, and both teams now had a power play goal. The score was 2-1, with the Trailblazers still holding the lead.

Quinn Murphy won the opening faceoff for the third period. Shortly into the final period of play, the Trailblazers were called for a penalty. The Golden Bears had three shots during their second power play. All three shots got to Laird, and all three shots were saved by Laird. The Trailblazers found some momentum from the penalty kill. It would lead to their third goal, 4:09 into the third period. Nathan Walerowicz found Sean Schifferl with a pass. Schifferl would direct the puck to Herrera, who put it into the back of the net to extend the lead to 3-1. It only took two minutes for the Trailblazers to extend the lead to three. By the boards, Brunner found Easton Moore, who sent the puck to Luke Rhoss. Rhoss was on the right side of the goal. Rhoss snapped a shot, and it went in. The score was 4-1, Trailblazers. The Golden Bears were then called for a penalty. A minute into the MCLA power play, another penalty was called against WNE. MCLA had one shot during the 5-on-3 power play but no goal. Then, MCLA was called for a penalty. WNE had three shots during their power play. However, no goal. WNE kept trying to get a goal back. However, they could not get it. They would be called for a penalty soon after. Both teams had a shot during the MCLA power play. Then, the Golden Bears picked up another penalty, and MCLA was on the 5-on-3 power play. That led to eight straight shots from MCLA. On the ninth straight shot, the Trailblazers scored their fifth goal of the night. Sean Schifferl got the goal. Charlie Addesa sent the puck to Shane Green, who pushed it toward the far blue line. Schifferl got the puck on the left side of the net and slotted it right past the goalie. MCLA led 5-1. The Trailblazers had one more power play opportunity at the end of the game. The Golden Bears had two shorthanded shots pushed away to start that MCLA power play. Then, MCLA had four shots, and that was the end of the game. The Trailblazers beat the Golden Bears 5-1. The shot totals favored the Golden Bears 33-28. The faceoff totals favored MCLA 45-35. The Trailblazers were two for seven on the power play, and the Golden Bears were one for three. 

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears traveled to North Adams, Massachusetts, for a game against the MCLA Trailblazers.
• Quinn Murphy netted the first goal of the game with 4:29 left in the first period. Luke Rhoss and Connor Nagy were credited with the assists. The score was 1-0, Trailblazers.
• Addam Brunner scored the second goal for the Trailblazers twenty-five seconds into the second period. The score was 2-0, Trailblazers.
• Owen Schmidt netted a goal 1:50 into the second period for the Golden Bears. Matt Dougherty and Sam Mitchell were credited with the assists. The score was 2-1.
• Cade Herrera put the Trailblazers back up by two goals. Sean Schifferl and Nathan Walerowicz had the assists. Herrera scored 4:09 into the third period to give the Trailblazers a 3-1 lead.
• Luke Rhoss scored 6:14 into the final period. Easton Moore and Addam Brunner assisted the goal. MCLA led 4-1. 
• Sean Schifferl scored with 4:34 left in the game to make the score 5-1. Shane Green and Charlie Addesa had the assists.
• Anthony Aureliano had 23 saves.
• Landry Laird had 32 saves.
• The Golden Bears lost 5-1.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears play the Rams of Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, on Friday, December 1, at 6:00 PM for their next game.
• The Trailblazers will play in the Castleton University Tournament on Friday, November 24, at 7:00 PM. Their first game of the tournament will be against Vermont State University Castleton.