Worcester, Mass. (January 20, 2024) – After their win against Rivier University on Friday night, the Golden Bears traveled out to Worcester, Massachusetts for another non-conference game against Worcester State University. The Golden Bears notched two goals in the first, while the Lancers also got one. Then, the Golden Bears grabbed a third goal in the second period of play to go up by two goals. The Lancers would cut the score to 3-2 in the third before the Golden Bears scored an empty-net goal and won the game 4-2.

Records:

• Western New England: 11-4-2 (7-3-1)
• Worcester State University: 6-11-1 (4-1-1)

How it Happened:

The game started with Kayla Ireland and Kelsey Czerniawski in net for the Golden Bears and Lancers, respectively. The opening faceoff was won by Cailey Ryan for the Lancers. Alyssa Murphy had the opening shot. The Lancers would answer with a shot, and the teams would go back and forth with possession of the puck. 3:48 into the game, the Golden Bears would claim the lead via an Allison Walker goal. Walker would intercept a clearance attempt by the Lancers. Walker skated with the puck from right to left and, once in front of the net, snapped a wrist shot past the goalie to give the Golden Bears the 1-0 lead. Worcester State University answered with three shots in a row, with two needing to be saved by Kayla Ireland. 6:11 into the game, the Golden Bears had their first power play opportunity. The Golden Bears had four shots on goal during that power play. However, Czerniawski made each save to keep the Golden Bear lead at one. The Golden Bears continued to pressure the Lancers' defense and goalie. They had ten of the next eleven shots, with nine shots needing to be saved by Czerniawski. After that, the Lancers were called for a penalty, and the Golden Bears had a second power play opportunity. The Golden Bears had five shots during the power play.

Alexa Paoli would get close to a power play goal with a shot that glanced off the pipe. Then, with their fifth shot on the power play, Paoli would net the second Golden Bear goal. Alyssa Murphy received the puck at the top of the zone and fed it to Maddie Pope. Pope sent the puck back to Murphy, who sent a shot towards the net that was tipped in by Alexa Paoli for a power play goal with 3:28 left in the opening period of play. The Lancers did not shy away, though. They would keep fighting and net their first goal with 1:25 left in the first. After Cailey Ryan pushed the puck into the Golden Bears' defensive zone, the Golden Bears lost control of the puck, and Katie Puumala skated toward the net with the puck. Puumala made a move around the goalie and pushed the puck into the back of the net to cut the deficit to one. The Golden Bears led 2-1. The Golden Bears had one more shot before the first period of play ended. The stats during the first showed the Golden Bears have 19 shots on goal compared to five from the Lancers. The Golden Bears had a power play goal during the first and won the faceoff battle with 11 faceoff wins to the ten wins from the Lancers. The Lancers had 17 saves compared to the Golden Bears' four. The Golden Bears led 2-1 after one period of play.

The second started with a WNE opening faceoff win by Leah Dube. The teams went back and forth to begin the second. Both goalies made multiple saves and kept the scoreline the way it was. The Lancers would start to put a lot of pressure on the Golden Bears with ten shots in a row against the Golden Bears. That would not phase the Golden Bears as they would wait for their opportunity and then score 7:51 into the second period of play. After a faceoff win by Allison Walker, Maddie Pope kicked the puck to Maddy Tucker, who skated down the left side of the ice and into the Lancers' defensive zone. Tucker would turn away from the net in the left corner and send a pass to Walker, who followed the play and was at the top of the Lancers' defensive zone. Walker sent a powerful shot into the upper right corner of the net, and the Golden Bear lead was back up to two. The Golden Bears led 3-1. The teams went back to back-and-forth action for the next four and a half minutes of play. Then, the Golden Bears were called for a penalty, and the Lancers had a power play opportunity. WSU had four shots during the power play. Ireland had to make three saves and did. The Lancers kept pushing for their second goal. They had six of the final eight shots to finish out the second. However, Kayla Ireland and the Golden Bear defense kept the scoreline how it was going into the second intermission. The stat line in the second showed the Lancers having more shots on goal 15-7 and one more power play opportunity than the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears led in faceoff wins again 9-8 and saves 15-6. The Golden Bears had a 3-1 lead going into the third period of play.

The third started with Cailey Ryan winning the opening faceoff for the Lancers. The final period of play started like the others, with back-and-forth action. Ireland and Czerniawski made save after save, and the defenses turned the opposing offenses away. WSU would start to put pressure on the Golden Bears with four shots in a row starting at the 5:21 mark in the final period of play. WNE answered with two shots that Czerniawski had to save. 9:51 into the final period of play, the Golden Bears were called for a penalty, and the Lancers had a power play opportunity. After four shots, the Lancers would capitalize on the power play and cut the deficit to one again. After a shot that went wide of the net from Caroline Melanson, Cassidhe Wozniak got the puck, skated behind the net, and passed to Sydney Vautour, who snapped a wrist shot past the left side of the goalie for the power play goal to make the score 3-2, Golden Bears with 8:18 left in the game. The Lancers could sense the comeback and would send shot after shot toward the goal, hoping to get a deflection into the net. They had seven of the next eight shots. With 1:25 left in the game, the Lancers pulled the goalie to put an extra skater on the ice. With 36 seconds left in the game, Maddie Pope scored, and the Golden Bears had the 4-2 lead. Maddie Pope would take the puck from the Lancers in the WSU defensive zone. Pope would send a shot into the empty net to give the Golden Bears a two-goal lead again. The Lancers would get a shot on Ireland at the end of the game, and after a save by Ireland, the Golden Bears won the game. The final stats showed the Golden Bears lead in shots on goal 33-32, faceoff wins 29-27 and saves 30-29. Both teams had a power play goal during the game. The Golden Bears won the game 4-2.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears traveled to the Worcester Ice Center to faceoff with the Lancers of Worcester State University.
• Allison Walker netted the game's opening goal 3:48 into the game. The goal was unassisted. The Golden Bears led 1-0.
• Alexa Paoli scored a power play goal for the Golden Bears' second goal of the game, 16:32 into the first. Alyssa Murphy had the assist. The Golden Bears led 2-0.
• Katie Puumala cut the Golden Bear lead to one at the 18:35 mark in the first period of play. Cailey Ryan and Cassidhe Wozniak were credited with the assists. The score was 2-1, Golden Bears.
• Allison Walker extended the Golden Bear lead back to two, 7:51 into the second. Maddy Tucker and Maddie Pope had the assists on the goal. The Golden Bears led 3-1.
• Sydney Vautour scored a power play goal for the Lancers to cut the Golden Bear lead down to one. Cassidhe Wozniak assisted the goal 11:42 into the final period of play. The Golden Bears led 3-2.
• Maddie Pope scored an empty-net goal, which was unassisted 19:24 into the third. The Golden Bears led 4-2.
• Kelsey Czerniawski made 29 saves.
• Kayla Ireland made 30 saves and earned the win.
• The Golden Bears won 4-2.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will take on Suffolk University in their next game at the Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink in Boston, Massachusetts. The game will be on Friday, January 26, at 6:00 PM.
• The Lancers will host New England College in their next game on Tuesday, January 30, at 2:00 PM at the Worcester Ice Center.