West Springfield, Mass. (January 19, 2024) – The Golden Bears welcomed Rivier University to the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Massachusetts, for a non-conference Friday night showdown. After both teams suffered losses in the previous games, they were both looking to bounce back with a win. Jenna Lynch gave the Golden Bears the early lead in the first period of play. Kelly Yorkey and Alyssa Murphy netted goals in the second to give the Golden Bears a 3-0 lead. Then, Maddie Pope would make it 4-0 in the third before Paige Anger netted a goal for the Raiders to cut the Golden Bear lead back to three. The final score was 4-1 in favor of the Golden Bears.

Records:

• Western New England: 10-4-2 (7-3-1)
• Rivier University: 4-8-3 (0-2-2)

How it Happened:

The game started between the Raiders and Golden Bears with Rachel Symmes and Luci Robertelli in net, respectively. Allison Walker won the opening faceoff for the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears had nine of the first ten shots of the game. WNE maintained possession and kept putting pressure on the Raiders. Shot after shot made its way to Symmes, who made save after save. Later in the opening period of play, the Raiders had a few shots in a row that Robertelli had to save, and did. The Golden Bears answered that with six shots in a row. The sixth shot was a Golden Bear goal. Maddie Tucker pushed the puck to Jenna Lynch, who skated down the left side of the ice and snapped a wrist shot right past the goalie to give the Golden Bears the lead 1-0 with 6:14 left in the opening period of play. The Golden Bears would keep the pressure on with sixteen shots in a row to finish out the opening period of play. At the end of the first, the Golden Bears led 20-5 in shots on goal, 38-6 in total shots, and 11-7 in faceoff wins. Rivier University led 9-0 in blocked shots. The Golden Bears led 1-0 after the first.

The second period of play started with Allison Walker winning the opening faceoff for the Golden Bears. WNE then had three out of the first four total shots. Rivier University then went on the power play. The Raiders had two shots during the power play, with one shot needing to be saved by Robertelli. During that power play, the Golden Bears were called for another penalty, and the Raiders had a 5-on-3 opportunity. The Raiders had five shots during the remainder of the power plays. The Golden Bears and Robertelli limited the Raiders to no goals during the power plays. The Golden Bears had two shots before a Rivier University penalty. The Golden Bears would score on their first opportunity on the power play. Allison Walker won the faceoff back to Alyssa Murphy, who passed the puck along to Kelly Yorkey, who sent it into the back of the net for the power play goal. The Golden Bears led 2-0, 6:04 into the second. The Golden Bears did not let up. They had eight of the next ten shots. They kept sending pucks at net. Symmes had to keep making saves. The Raiders had a couple of shots in a row after that before the Golden Bears regained possession of the puck and had five more shots in a row. The teams would trade shots for a little before the Golden Bears extended the lead to three right before the end of the second. After an icing call against the Raiders put the faceoff in the Raiders' defensive zone, Allison Walker won the faceoff back to Alyssa Murphy. Murphy got the puck and sent a quick wrist shot at the goal. The Golden Bears led 3-0 with 12.6 left in the second. That is how the second period of play would finish. The second saw the Golden Bears lead 17-7 in shots on goal, 23-17 in total shots taken, 9-7 in faceoffs won, 6-2 in blocked shots, and 1-0 in power play goals. The Raiders led 2-1 in power play opportunities. The Golden Bears led 3-0 with one period of play remaining.

Allison Walker won the opening faceoff for the Golden Bears to start the third period of play. Through the first half of the final period of play, the Golden Bears had seventeen out of the first twenty total shots. With 9:50 left in the third, the Golden Bears extended their lead to four goals. Alyssa Murphy would receive the puck on the right side of the ice, skating toward the Raider net. Murphy would find Allison Walker in the middle of the Golden Bear offensive zone. Walker would snap a shot at the goal that Symmes would make a save on. However, the puck ricocheted to Maddie Pope, who needed no time to send the puck back at the net and scored. The Golden Bears led 4-0 with 9:50 left in the game.

The Raiders would answer with three shots in a row. The first two shots went wide of the net. However, the third would hit the back of the netting as the Raiders cut the deficit to three. Molly Dukesherer had the puck in the Raiders' defensive zone. Dukesherer sent a pass off the boards to Paige Anger, who skated in the Golden Bear defensive zone and sent a shot to the right of Robertelli and into the back of the net. The Raiders cut the Golden Bear lead to 4-1 with 8:17 remaining in the game. The play would go back to back-and-forth action. Both teams traded shots, with both goalies making saves. The Golden Bears would control the puck for more time towards the end of the game. The Raiders kept fighting for a second goal. However, the Golden Bears would keep the three-goal lead through the final horn and win the game by a margin of three goals. The final stats for the game showed the Golden Bears lead in total shots 89-34, shots on goal 52-18, faceoffs won 29-21, and power play goals 1-0. The Raiders had more power play opportunities 2-1, more blocked shots 15-7, and more saves, 48-17. The Golden Bears won the game 4-1.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears welcomed the Raiders to town for a Friday night matchup.
• Jenna Lynch opened the scoring with a goal 13:46 into the game. Maddy Tucker was credited with the assist. The Golden Bears led 1-0.
• Kelly Yorkey scored the second goal for the Golden Bears 6:04 into the second period of play during a power play. Alyssa Murphy and Allison Walker had the assists. The Golden Bears led 2-0.
• Alyssa Murphy netted the third goal at the 19:48 mark in the second. Allison Walker had the assist. The Golden Bears led 3-0.
• Maddie Pope scored the fourth Golden Bear goal of the night. Allison Walker and Alyssa Murphy had the assists. The Golden Bears led 4-0 10:10 into the third period of play.
• Paige Anger scored for the Raiders 11:43 into the final period of play. Molly Dukesherer assisted the goal. The Golden Bears led 4-1.
• Rachel Symmes had 48 saves.
• Luci Robertelli had 17 saves and earned the win.
• The Golden Bears beat the Raiders 4-1.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears travel to Worcester State University on Saturday, January 20, for another non-conference game. That game will be played at the Worcester Ice Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, at 4:30 PM.
• The Raiders will return to Conway Arena for their final non-conference game of the season. They will host Albertus Magnus College at 6:50 PM on Saturday, January 20.