West Springfield, Mass. (January 26, 2024) – The Golden Bears held its annual "Hockey Fights Cancer Night" at the Olympia Ice Center on Friday night. The Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology traveled to town to take on the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears would grab the early lead thanks to a power play goal from Nolan Dawson. However, the Leopards would net four in the second and two in the third before WNE got their second goal late in the game. The Leopards won the game 6-2 over the Golden Bears. Sam Logan and Nolan Dawson led the Golden Bears with a goal each on the night.

Records:

• Western New England: 4-13-2 (1-9-2)
• Wentworth Institute of Technology: 7-11-1 (3-8-1)

How it Happened:

 The game started with a Nikolas Sombrowski opening faceoff win for the Leopards. The Leopards had Jack McGovern in net, and the Golden Bears had Anthony Aureliano in opposition. The Golden Bears had a quick start with four of the first five shots of the game. McGovern had to make two saves for the Leopards. The Leopards answered with five shots in a row, with Aureliano making three saves. The Golden Bears answered with four of five shots, and the play kept moving back and forth. McGovern and Aureliano were giving up no shots, and both defenses did a nice job parrying away the attacks from the opposing offenses. The Leopards would have four shots in a row during the middle of the first. Then, back-and-forth play ensued, with the goalies locking down the opposing offense. That was until the Golden Bears had six of seven shots with around five minutes remaining in the opening period of play. The Leopards were called for a penalty, and the Golden Bears had a power play opportunity.

The Golden Bears had a shot go wide of the net before the Leopards were called for a five-minute major penalty. The Golden Bears had three shots, with two testing McGovern during the 5-on-3 power play opportunity. They would not get a goal during that opportunity. However, they had four shots during the 5-on-4 power play and got a goal on that fourth shot. The cross-ice pass from Brayden Patricia found Rais Francis, who sent a couple of shots at the net. McGovern saved both shots, but the puck could not be covered and found its way to Nolan Dawson, who sent it into the back of the net to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. The power play did not end there. The Golden Bears had two more shots during the power play to end the opening period of play. After one, the Golden Bears led in shots on goal 17-9, total shots 34-19, and faceoffs won 11-7. The Leopards had more blocked shots 3-1 and saves 16-9. The Golden Bears led 1-0.

The second started with Matt Dougherty winning the opening faceoff for the Golden Bears. WNE had two shots on goal before the end of the Leopards' penalty. The teams would trade shots during the beginning of the second, with the Leopards having a few more scoring opportunities than the Golden Bears, and put the pressure on with five shots in a row starting at the 6:34 mark in the second. That would lead to a goal from the Leopards 7:45 into the second. Owen Rudicus pushed the puck to Mitch McGinn on the right side of the ice. McGinn found Nolan Lowe in front of the WNE goalie. Lowe flicked the puck up and into the back of the net. The game was tied 1-1. The Golden Bears answered with four shots in a row, which the Leopards were able to counter, and 11:21 into the second, the Leopards gained the lead. Seth Robinson fed Mitch McGinn the puck on the left side of the ice, skating toward the Golden Bear defensive zone. McGinn sent the puck across the ice, down to the right corner of the of the ice. Nikolas Sombrowski met up with the puck, skated around the zone, and sent a quick wrist shot into the back of the net. The Leopards led 2-1.

After the Leopards won the ensuing faceoff, they would have two shots, followed by a shot from the Golden Bears. Both teams had another shot. Then, after Will O'Brien had a shot, Mitch McGinn would tip the puck into the air in front of the goalie and hit the puck past the goalie to give the Leopards a 3-1 lead with 6:10 remaining in the second. The teams would each have a pair of shots before the Leopards had their fourth goal of the second period of play. After Brendan Young had a shot go off the side of the goal, Josh Fausett skated to the puck behind the net and sent it back to Young, who redirected it to Owen Rudicus in front of the net. Rudicus sent a shot into the back of the net, and the Leopards led 4-1. After the goal, the Leopards have eleven of the next twelve shots. Aureliano made the saves and kept the deficit at three. The Golden Bears were called for a penalty with twenty-four seconds remaining in the second. The Leopards had one shot to end the second. Aureliano made the save. The stat line during the second showed the Leopards had 36 total shots, with 21 on goal. The Golden Bears had 16 total shots, with 13 on goal. Both teams won ten faceoffs, and the Golden Bears had more saves 17-13 and blocked shots 5-1. The Golden Bears trailed 4-1 after the second period of play.

Josh Faucett won the opening faceoff for the Leopards, and the third period of play was underway. The Leopards had one more shot to finish out the Golden Bear penalty. Both teams got shots off during the following minutes. Then, 5:13 into the third, Nick Cullinan netted the fifth goal of the night for the Leopards. Desmond Johnson had the puck in the Leopards' defensive zone. Johnson sent a quick pass to Travis Marchant, who traveled up the right side of the ice and to the back-right side of the WNE goal. Marchant sent a pass to Nick Cullinan in front of the goal, who scored. Leopards had a 5-1 lead.

The teams went back and forth for a little while. The Leopards were then called for a penalty with 11:50 left in the game. The Golden Bears had no shots during the power play. They would have four of the six shots following the power play. Then, the Golden Bears were called for a penalty, leading to a power play for the Leopards. The Leopards had seven shots during the power play, and with 2:32 left in the game, they netted their final goal of the evening. Cade Penney had the puck in front of the goal. Penney sent the puck down to Mitch McGinn, who skated behind the goal and sent a pass to Nikolas Sombrowski, who sent a one-time shot into the goal. The Leopards led 6-1 after the power play goal. The Golden Bears finished the game by having four of the final five shots, with the fourth and final shot of the game being a goal from Sam Logan. Logan had a shot blocked. Jordie Morgan would pass the puck to Kyle Knight, who found Logan in front of the net for another shot. Logan would find the top right corner of the net. That was Logan's first career Golden Bear goal. The Golden Bears trailed 6-2 after the goal. The game finished with a stat line that showed the Leopards with 72 total shots and 41 shots on goal, and the Golden Bears had 62 total shots and 35 shots on goal. The Leopards won the faceoff battle 28-25, and the Golden Bears blocked more shots, 7-6. Both teams had a power play goal. The Golden Bears lost 6-2.

Inside the Crease:

• Men's Ice Hockey hosted the Leopards for their annual "Hockey Fights Cancer Night" at the Olympia Ice Center.
• Nolan Dawson scored the game's opening goal for the Golden Bears 19:09 into the game. Rais Francis and Brayden Patricia notched the assists. The Golden Bears led 1-0.
• Nolan Lowe netted the first goal for the Leopards 7:45 into the second period of play. Owen Rudicus and Mitch McGinn assisted the goal. The score was tied 1-1.
• Nikolas Sombrowski gave the Leopards the lead 11:21 into the second period of play. Seth Robinson and Mitch McGinn were credited with the assists. The Leopards led 2-1.
• Mitch McGinn doubled the Leopard lead with a goal assisted by Will O'Brien 13:50 into the second. The Leopards' lead was 3-1.
• Owen Rudicus scored the fourth goal for the Leopards 14:47 into the second. Josh Fausett and Brendan Young assisted the goal. The Leopards led 4-1.
• Nick Cullinan scored 5:13 into the final period of play to give the Leopards a 5-1 lead. Desmond Johnson and Travis Marchant assisted the goal.
• Nikolas Sombrowski made the score 6-1 17:28 into the third with a power play goal. Cade Penney and Mitch McGinn were credited with the assists.
• Sam Logan netted the second Golden Bear goal of the night and Logan's first career goal. Jordie Morgan and Kyle Knight assisted the goal. The Golden Bears trailed 6-2.
• Anthony Aureliano made 35 saves.
• Jack McGovern made 33 saves and earned the win.
• The Leopards beat the Golden Bears 6-2.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The teams will travel east to Everett, Massachusetts, and the Allied Veterans Memorial Rink for their next game against each other. That game will be on Saturday, January 27, at 3:00 PM.