West Springfield, Mass. (January 12, 2024) – The Golden Bears returned to the ice for a showdown with conference foes, Salve Regina University. The Golden Bears were looking for their fourth consecutive win and their third to start 2024. WNE opened the scoring with a goal in the first. Then, the Seahawks scored two in the second, with the Golden Bears netting a goal to make the score 2-2 after two. Then, the Golden Bears would score four in the final period of play to make the final score 6-2, WNE. The Golden Bears were led by Maddie Pope, who had two goals and an assist, Allison Walker, who had two assists and a goal, and Alyssa Murphy, who had three assists. 

Records:

• Western New England: 9-3-2 (7-2-1)
• Salve Regina University: 5-9-1 (4-2-1)

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears and Seahawks took to the ice for their first matchup of the season. Rieley Jessie-Gerelli and Sydney Baxter were in net for the teams, respectively. The game started with a faceoff won by Zoe Galanoudis. The teams traveled back and forth down the ice, trading shots. Then, the Seahawks went on the power play. Shots were 5-2 in favor of the Seahawks during the Seahawk power play, with one save by both goalies. Soon after that power play, the Golden Bears had a power play in which they had two shots, with one being saved by Baxter. WNE had a few shots before another penalty was called on the Seahawks. The Golden Bears had six shots on this power play, with three shots on goal that were saved by Jessie-Gerelli. The Golden Bears kept the pressure on with shot after shot. The momentum had started to turn in WNE's favor. However, the Seahawks were trying to keep the puck out of their defensive zone and started getting shots on Jessie-Gerelli again. Then, with 1:43 left in the opening period of play, Maddy Tucker gave the Golden Bears the lead. Alyssa Murphy got the puck on the left side of the ice in the Golden Bear offensive zone. Murphy sent the puck to Tucker on the right side of the net, and Tucker sent it into the back of the net; Golden Bears led 1-0. The Seahawks would finish the opening period of play with two shots on net, but Jessie-Gerelli made the saves, and the teams went into the first intermission. Shots on goal were in favor of the Golden Bears 9-8. Total shots favored WNE 23-15, and faceoffs won 9-5. The Seahawks had more penalties in the opening period of play, 2-1, and more blocked shots, 8-2. The score was 1-0 Golden Bears going into the first intermission.

Zoe Galanoudis would win the opening faceoff to get the second period of play started. The Golden Bears got the first two shots on goal that Baxter had to save before the Seahawks had five shots in a row, with the fifth shot being a goal from Jillian Egan 2:48 into the middle period of play. Egan intercepted a WNE pass attempt, skated into the WNE defensive zone, skated to the right side of the goal, and sent a quick shot into the back of the net; the score was even at 1-1. The Golden Bears immediately answered with a shot that Baxter had to save. The Seahawks answered with five shots in a row, with Jessie-Gerelli having to make two saves. The Golden Bears would answer with five of their own, and 7:10 into the middle period of play, Maddie Pope would help the Golden Bears regain the lead. Alyssa Murphy would gain possession of the puck, skate all the way down the ice, and send a shot on goal that was saved. However, the rebound went right to Pope, who sent the puck into the net for the goal. WNE led 2-1. The Seahawks had eight of the next eleven shots, with five shots needing to be saved by Jessie-Gerelli. Then, the Golden Bears went back on the power play. The Golden Bears had two shots during the power play, with both teams having a shot on goal and the goalies making the saves. The Seahawks kept the pressure on the Golden Bears with four more shots and one on Jessie-Gerelli.

The Golden Bears answered with four shots of their own. Baxter had to make each save. Then, after a shot from Ashtyn Bringardner went wide of the net, Jennifer Rickard claimed the puck from Morgan Peritz on the right side of the ice in the Golden Bear defensive zone. Rickard fired a pass to Bringardner in front of the net, who pushed the puck past the goalie, and the score was even, 2-2, with 18.4 left in the second period of play. After a couple of faceoffs, the second finished with the score tied at two. WNE led in shots on goal 14-12, faceoffs won 11-9 and blocked shots 9-1. The Seahawks had one penalty compared to the Golden Bears, who had none. The Seahawks also led in total shots 25-17. The score was 2-2 after two.

The final period of play started with another Zoe Galanoudis opening faceoff win for the Golden Bears. It led to the Golden Bears skating right down the ice, and after getting the puck back, Alexa Paoli pushed the puck to Galanoudis, who sent it to Ziya Damas, who sent a wrist shot at net, which flew over the goalie and hit the back of the net to give the Golden Bears the lead once again. The score was 3-2, 21 seconds into the final period of play. The Golden Bears would go on the power play a little over two minutes later. They had four shots with three on goal, and those shots were saved by Baxter. After a couple of Seahawk shots that were saved by Jessie-Gerelli, the Seahawks were given a four-minute power play. The Golden Bears had the only shot during the first two minutes of the power play, saved by Baxter. Then, the Seahawks were called for a penalty, and the teams skated 4-on-4. After a shot from the Seahawks, they were called for another penalty, which gave the Golden Bears another power play opportunity, and 9:01 into the final period of play, Allison Walker netted a power play goal to make the lead 4-2. Kelly Yorkey got the puck off a deflection from Alyssa Murphy's shot, skated at the top of the Golden Bear offensive zone and sent a pass to Walker at the bottom of the zone. Walker skated around a defender, sent a backhand shot at the goal, and scored. That ended the power play for the Golden Bears.

The Seahawks answered with pressure. They had five shots in a row. However, the defense and Jessie-Gerelli kept them out of the net. Shortly after the flurry of shots from Salve Regina University, the Golden Bears were back on the power play. Maddie Pope scored at the 16:43 mark of the final period of play on an assist from Alexa Paoli and Allison Walker. Walker sent a pass from behind the net to Paoli on the right side of the ice, who pushed the puck across the ice to Pope, who was right next to the goal on the left side. Pope sent the puck into a wide-open net for the fifth goal.

The Golden Bears led 5-2 after the power play goal. Sixteen seconds later, the Golden Bears scored their sixth goal. Allison Walker had the puck behind the Seahawk goal after a pas from Maddie Pope. Walker found Yorkey with a pass in front of the net, and Yorkey sent it past the goalie; the Golden Bears led 6-2. Ellee Kopecky entered at goal for the Seahawks. Then, after back-and-forth action, the game would finish with the Golden Bears earning a conference win. The final stats show the Golden Bears ahead on shots 54-49, shots on goal 32-24, power play goals 2-0, faceoffs won 34-20, and blocked shots 12-11. The Seahawks had more penalties, 7-3, and more saves, 26-22. The Golden Bears won the game 6-2.

Inside the Crease:

• WNE welcomed the Seahawks of Salve Regina University to the Olympia Ice Center for a CCC showdown.
• Maddy Tucker sent the first goal into the net for the Golden Bears. Alyssa Murphy had the assist. The Golden Bears led 1-0 with 1:43 left in the opening period of play. 
• Jillian Egan evened the score at one goal per side 2:48 into the second period of play. The goal was unassisted. The teams were tied at 1-1.
• Maddie Pope scored the second goal 7:10 into the second. Alyssa Murphy had the assist for the goal. The Golden Bears led 1-0.
• Ashtyn Bringardner tied the score at two with 48 seconds left in the second. Jennifer Rickard and Morgan Peritz had the assists. The score was tied 2-2.
• 21 seconds into the third period of play, Ziya Damas netted the game-winning goal off assists from Zoe Galanoudis and Alexa Paoli. The Golden Bears led 3-2. 
• 9:01 into the third, Allison Walker doubled the lead with a power play goal. Kelly Yorkey and Alyssa Murphy had the assists. The Golden Bears led 4-2.
• At the 16:43 mark in the third, Maddie Pope scored on another WNE power play. Alexa Paoli and Allison Walker had the assists. The score was 5-2, Golden Bears.
• The Golden Bears scored one last goal at the 16:59 mark. Kelly Yorkey scored off assists Allison Walker and Maddie Pope. The Golden Bears had the lead 6-2. 
• Sydney Baxter had 26 saves.
• Rieley Jessie-Gerelli had 22 saves and earned the win.
• The Golden Bears won 6-2.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The teams will travel to the Cabot-Harman Ice Center in Middletown, R.I., for their second game of the home-and-home series. That game will be on Saturday, January 13, at 8:00 PM.