Nashua, N.H. (December 5, 2023) - After an exciting shootout win on Saturday, the Men's Ice Hockey team traveled to Nashua, New Hampshire, for their final game before the winter break. The Golden Bears took on the Raiders of Rivier University at Conway Arena. The Raiders would score the first two goals to go up 2-0. The Golden Bears would answer with a goal before the Raiders scored their third. Early in the third period, the Golden Bears got back to within one, but the Raiders scored an empty-net goal at the end of the game to win 4-2.

• Western New England: 2-8-2 (1-5-2)
• Rivier University: 6-4-1 (0-0-0)

How it Happened:

Starting in net for the Golden Bears was Andrew LoRusso, and for the Raiders was Luke Newell. Matt Dougherty won the opening faceoff for WNE. The Raiders had the first overall shot, but the Golden Bears would have the first shot on goal that Newell had to save. The Raiders would control the puck and get the first goal of the game 4:26 into the game. Damon Kiyawasew would get the puck skating up the right side of the ice. Kiyawasew would take a shot that was blocked by the Golden Bear defense; however, the puck fell back to Kiyawasew, who sent another wrist shot at goal, and that shot found the back of the net. The Raiders were winning 1-0. The Raiders would continue to pressure the Golden Bears with the first three shots after the goal. Two of those shots found LoRusso, who made the saves. Then, the play went back and forth for a while before WNE went on a run of nine straight shots, starting with 4:29 left in the opening period of play. Five of the shots were on net, but Newell made each save. That did not faze the Raiders, as their next shot was a goal from Bryan Van Ness, who doubled the Raiders' lead. Ryan Nolte took the puck up the right side of the ice and had a 3-on-1 opportunity. Nolte passed the puck across the goal to Van Ness, who sent the puck just under the top of the net to give the Raiders the 2-0 lead. The Golden Bears would then get called for a penalty, and the Raiders had a power play. However, 52 seconds into the Raiders' power play, Matty Zdanowicz had the puck on the right side of the ice with a 2-on-1 opportunity. Zdanowicz sent a pass to Justin Sullivan, who sent the puck back to Zdanowicz, who put the puck just under the goalie's pads for the short-handed Golden Bear goal. The Golden Bears trailed 2-1. The Raiders finished out the power play with three total shots and two shots on goal. The Golden Bears were called for a penalty right before the first intermission, and after two Raider shots, the opening period was over. The Raiders had more shots on goal (13-11) in the first period of play and led 1-0 at the first intermission.

The second period of play started with Nolan Dawson winning the opening faceoff for WNE. The Raiders finished the power play with five more shots. Four of the shots were on goal. The Raiders had six of the next seven shots and were putting more and more pressure on the Golden Bears to keep the score at 2-1. Then, Rivier was called for a penalty, and the Golden Bears had a power play opportunity. WNE had two shots, with one saved by Newell during the power play. However, they would have another power play opportunity shortly after. The Golden Bears would only get one shot on goal during that power play, and it was saved by Newell. The action would shift to back-and-forth play. Then, with 4:51 left in the second period of play, Bryan Van Ness struck again. Ryan Nolte sent a pass to Hunter Phillips, who sent a cross-ice pass to Bryan Van Ness. Van Ness then sent a wrist shot over the WNE goalie and into the goal for the 3-1 lead. The teams went back and forth for the remaining time in the second period. The Golden Bears had a power play at the end of the second period, but only had one shot with it being saved by Newell. The Raiders had the lead in shots on goal at the second period by a score of 13-12 and also had the lead 3-1 going into the second intermission.

The third period of play started with Jake Laville's faceoff win for the Raiders. However, the Golden Bears got possession of the puck, went down the ice, and scored. Owen Schmidt had the puck behind the net. Schmidt found Jordie Morgan with a pass in front of the net, and Morgan pushed the puck into the net to cut the deficit to one. The Raiders led 3-2. The teams would trade shots up until the Raiders were called for a penalty, and the Golden Bears went on the power play. The Golden Bears had four shots during the power play but were not able to get the equalizing goal. That led to Rivier putting pressure on the Golden Bears with five of the next six shots. The Golden Bears would then go on the power play after a penalty called on the Raiders. Each team would have a shot during the WNE power play. With just under five minutes left in the game, the Raiders went on the power play. The Raiders had four shots on the power play before the Golden Bears would have another short-handed opportunity. Finally, with 34.3 seconds left in the game, the Raiders' Jon Tavella would send the puck into the empty Golden Bear net to finish up the game. The Raiders had the 4-2 lead, and that is how the game would end. The Raiders had 40 shots on goal compared to the Golden Bears' 30 for the game. Both teams had 30 faceoff wins during the game. The Golden Bears were called for four penalties, and the Raiders were called for six. The final score was 4-2 Raiders.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears skated against the Raiders of Rivier University on Tuesday night.
• Damon Kiyawasew scored the first goal 4:26 into the game. There were no assists on the play. The Raiders led 1-0.
• Bryan Van Ness scored with 2:55 left in the first period of play. Ryan Nolte had the assist. The Raiders led 2-0.
• Matt Zdanowicz netted a short-handed goal with 1:51 left in the opening period of play. Justin Sullivan had the assist. The score was now 2-1, Raiders.
• Bryan Van Ness extended the Raider lead back up to two with a goal at the end of the second period of play. It was 3-1 Raiders, with 4:51 left in the second period. Ryan Nolte and Hunter Phillips were credited with the assists. 
• Jordie Morgan scored 17 seconds into the third period to cut the Raider lead to 3-2. Owen Schmidt had the assist.
• Jon Tavella had the empty-net goal with 34.3 seconds left in the game. That made the score 4-2. There was no assist on the play.
• Andrew LoRusso had 36 saves.
• Luke Newell had 28 saves.
• The Raiders won the game 4-2.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will head into winter break and be back in action on Friday, January 5, 2024. They will welcome the Mustangs of Morrisville State College to the Olympia Ice Center. The puck drop will be at 8:00 PM.
• The Raiders will host the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales University-Providence next. That game will be at 7:20 PM on Friday, December 8, 2023, at Conway Arena in Nashua, New Hampshire.