West Springfield, Mass. (January 13, 2024) – After a loss on Friday night, the Golden Bears looked to rebound with a win in their final non-conference game of the season at home against Anna Maria College. The Amcats were coming off a 5-2 win on Tuesday over Framingham State. The Amcats netted two in the first to take a 2-0 lead after one period of play. Both teams scored three goals each in the second to make it 5-3 going into the third. The Amcats would notch a goal in the third and win the game 6-3. Justin Sullivan, Brayden Patricia, and Kyle Knight each had a goal for the Golden Bears.

• Western New England: 4-10-2 (1-6-2)
• Anna Maria College: 11-6-0 (0-0-0)

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears and Amcats skated onto the ice with Andrew LoRusso and Matthew Hennessey in net for the teams, respectively. Brandon Della-Paolera won the opening faceoff for the Amcats, and the game got underway. The Golden Bears started the game with a couple of quick shots, which the Amcats answered with five shots in a row. LoRusso had to make a save and did. Both teams would have opportunities to break the score open, but it would not happen until 6:58 into the game. Nicholas Frederick handled the puck behind the WNE goal. Frederick sent a pass to Bryden Sinclair, who sent a wrist shot to the left of the net, and Spencer Carpenter was there to deflect it into the net. The Amcats led 1-0. Eleven seconds after the goal, the Amcats were called for a penalty, and the Golden Bears had a power play opportunity. The Golden Bears had two shots during the power play, with none on goal.

Then, with 22 seconds left in the power play, the Golden Bears were called for a penalty, and the teams would skate 4-on-4. There were no shots during 4-on-4 hockey or on the Anna Maria College power play. Both teams went back and forth with shots. However, Braeden McKinnon would double the Amcat lead with 6:03 left in the opening period of play. Justin Taylor found Cam Tobey, who sent a long pass down the middle of the ice to McKinnon, who was alone and had a breakaway opportunity. McKinnon made a move and slotted the puck past the goalie to make the score 2-0, with Anna Maria College in the lead. After some time off the clock, the Amcats went back on the power play. Shots favored the Amcats 2-1 during their power play, with both teams having shots on goal and the goalies both making saves. With 32 seconds remaining in the first, the Golden Bears were called for another penalty, and the Amcats would end the first on the power play with four shots on goal that LoRusso saved. After one period of play, total shots favored the Amcats 23-13, shots on goal favored the Amcats 17-7, power play opportunities favored the Amcats 3-1, and blocked shots favored the Amcats 2-0. The Golden Bears won more faceoffs 12-10 and had more saves, 15-7. Neither team had a power play goal. The score was 2-0 Amcats at the first intermission.

The second period of play was hectic. Matty Zdanowicz won the opening faceoff. The Amcats finished their power play with three more shots, one being on goal and saved by LoRusso. The Golden Bears had two shorthanded shots saved by Hennessey. The Amcats would go on to have six of the next seven shots, with the sixth shot being their third goal of the evening. Guillaume Coulombe scored 3:32 into the second after Samson Mouland sent a pass to Sean McWhinnie, who found Coulombe in front of the net. Coulombe lost the puck in front of the net but regained control and skated around the net, wrapping the puck around and into the back of the goal. The score was 3-0, Amcats. After a couple of shots back and forth between the teams, Justin Sullivan got the scoring started for the Golden Bears. 5:35 into the second, Jimmy Mettler wrapped the puck around the boards to Billy Hefferle. Hefferle sent a pass to Sullivan, who skated across the blue line and into the Amcat defensive zone. Moving left to right, Sullivan snapped a shot at goal and it caught the twine netting. The score was cut to 3-1. The teams would go back and forth with shots again. 

1:30 after the Golden Bear goal, Giovanni Perillo had a pass blocked, which Perillo rebounded and sent around the boards. The puck was intercepted but sent around the boards further to Justin Taylor. Taylor would find Perillo in front of the net with a pass that Perillo tipped up and over the goalie. The Amcats led 4-1. The teams would settle in for a little, with the Golden Bears having eight of the next ten shots before the Amcats were called for a penalty and the Golden Bears' power play unit got on the ice. It took the Golden Bears twenty-two seconds to score on the power play. Everest Schneider would pick up the puck, skating toward the Amcat defensive zone after a turnover. Schneider found Brayden Patricia, who was to the right of Schneider, and Patricia sent a wrist shot into the goal. The score was 4-2 after the power play, with 8:18 remaining in the second. After a couple of shots from the Golden Bears, the Amcats were back on the power play. The Amcats had three shots, with the third being a power play goal. Derek Raposo got the puck in the Amcat defensive zone, skated it down to the other end of the ice, and passed it to Matthew Gilbert, who was skating in toward the goal. Gilbert sent a quick shot right past the goalie to give the Amcats the 5-2 lead with 5:10 remaining in the second. Right after that goal, nineteen seconds later, Jake Mendeszoon found Kyle Knight with a pass. Knight pushed the puck to Matty Zdanowicz, who relayed it back to Knight. Knight would snap a shot at the goal and in. The Golden Bears cut the deficit back to two. The Golden Bears trailed 5-3. The teams would go back and forth to finish the second period of play, and the teams would enter intermission with a score of 5-3, favoring the Amcats. Total shots for that period of play favored the Golden Bears 27-21. The Golden Bears also led in shots on goal 16-11. The Amcats won more faceoffs 14-12, had more saves 13-8, and blocked more shots 4-3. Both teams had a power play attempt and a power play goal. 

The final period of play began with Jordie Morgan winning the opening faceoff for the Golden Bears. After a shot from the Golden Bears and two from the Amcats that had LoRusso making the saves, the Amcats went back on the power play. The Amcats had five shots during a power play that ended with a goal. Bryden Sinclair found Max Wennerberg at the top of the Golden Bear defensive zone. Wennerberg shipped the puck over to Pearce Baker, who gave it back to Wennerberg for the one-timer that sailed into the goal. The Amcats led 6-3 with 16:59 left in the game. After a few shots from both teams, the Golden Bears went on the power play with 11:36 left. The power play consisted of two shots, with none on goal.

The puck moved from end to end until the Golden Bears had a run of seven shots in a row, with six of the shots making Hennessey save them. The Amcats responded with six in a row of their own. LoRusso had to make five saves and did. The Golden Bears had four shots after that before a penalty was called on the Golden Bears. The Amcats finished the game on the power play. Both teams would have a shot before the game ended. The final stats showed total shots favoring Anna Maria College 63-57. The Amcats also led in shots on goal 40-33 and power play goals 2-1. The Golden Bears won more faceoffs 32-31 and blocked more shots 9-7. The Golden Bears were 1-3 on the power play, and the Amcats were 2-6. The Amcats won the game 6-3.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears welcomed the Amcats to town for their final non-conference game of the season.
• Spencer Carpenter scored the opening goal 6:58 into the game. Bryden Sinclair and Nicholas Frederick had the assists. The Amcats led 1-0.
• Braeden McKinnon netted the second goal 13:57 into the opening period of play. Cam Tobey and Justin Taylor were credited with the assists. The Amcats led 2-0.
• Guillaume Coulombe had the third Amcat goal 3:32 into the second. Sean McWhinnie and Samson Mouland assisted the goal. The Amcats led 3-0. 
• Justin Sullivan cut the Amcat lead to two with a goal 5:35 into the second. Billy Hefferle and Jimmy Mettler had the assists. The Amcats led 3-1.
• Giovanni Perillo helped the Amcats regain a three-goal lead 7:05 into the second. Justin Taylor had the assist. The Amcats led 4-1.
• Brayden Patricia scored on the power play to make the deficit two again. Everest Schneider was credited with the assist. The Amcats led 4-2 at 11:42 into the second period of play.
• Matthew Gilbert scored 14:50 into the second on the power play to give the Amcats a 5-2 lead. Derek Raposo had the assist.
• Kyle Knight made the score 5-3 15:09 into the second. Matty Zdanowicz and Jake Mendeszoon had the assists.
• Max Wennerberg had the final goal of the night on the power play 3:01 into the final period of play. Bryden Sinclair and Pearce Baker were given the assists. The score was 6-3, Amcats.
• Andrew LoRusso had 34 saves.
• Matthew Hennessey had 30 saves and got the win.
• The Amcats beat the Golden Bears 6-3.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will host Curry College in their next game at the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Massachusetts. That game will be a Friday matinee matchup on January 19 at noon.
• Anna Maria College will host Rivier University at Horgan Ice Rink in Auburn, Massachusetts, for their next game. That game will be on Friday, January 19, at 5:40 PM.