BOSTON, Mass. (November 22, 2024) – The Golden Bears were in Boston, Massachusetts, on Friday for their first conference showdown of the season with the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards. The Leopards jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the opening period of play. The Golden Bears answered with four goals in the second. However, the Leopards would score one in the third period of play and win in a shootout, 3-2.

Records:

Western New England: 1-5-1 (0-4-1)

Wentworth Institute of Technology: 3-3-1 (2-2-1)

How it Happened:

The Leopards would get out to a quick start by scoring three goals in the opening eight minutes of the contest. Anthony Aureliano and Jack McGovern led the teams onto the ice in Boston for the Golden Bears and Leopards, respectively. The Leopards took a 1-0 lead after one minute of play. WNE had the first shot on goal saved by McGovern. However, WIT won the ensuing faceoff, and skated the puck into the WIT attacking zone. After WNE could not clear the puck, George Kolovos found Anthony Dalessio, who sent a pass to Nolan Lowe in front of the net. Lowe sent a one-timer shot into the top-right corner of the goal, and WIT led 1-0. After a WNE penalty was called, WIT had a shot saved by Aureliano and five shots in a row after that. Then, 7:10 into the game, Max Pineo sent a cross-ice pass to Nick Cullinan in front of the goal. Cullinan directed the puck into the back of the net to give WIT a 2-0 lead. The Leopards quickly tripled the lead. Dane Probe sent a pass to Alex Walicki, who sent a shot wide. The puck took a favorable bounce off the end boards for the Leopards. Ethan Lim was sitting in front of the net and moved the puck into the back of the net to give WIT a 3-0 lead. The Golden Bears would settle into the game after a timeout after the third WIT goal. They had five of the next six shots before drawing a power play opportunity. They produced three shots on the power play, and WIT would have a shot saved by Aureliano, too. The teams would trade shots back and forth after that, and after one period of play, the Leopards had a 3-0 lead. The first-period-of-play stats showed WNE with more shots, 14-12. However, WIT had more shots on goal, 10-7. WNE had more faceoff wins, 13-7. WIT had more blocked shots, 5-2. Both teams had seven saves.

WNE responded in a big way in the second period of play. The Golden Bears responded quickly by winning the opening faceoff, having three shots, and scoring on the third shot. Nolan Dawson would corral the puck in the WNE attacking zone after Matty Zdanowicz sent it towards Dawson, and sent a shot at McGovern, who saved it. However, the puck bounced back to Brayden Patricia, who was skating towards the goal. Patricia slapped the puck back at the goal and scored. WNE cut the deficit to 3-1 1:08 into the second. WNE had three shots in a row before a power play chance after the goal. WNE had six shots in a row on the power play but could not find a second goal. The teams traded shots for a little while after that, with the goalies and defenses keeping the offenses from scoring another goal. As the second period of play was getting towards the later stages of the time remaining, WNE started to send more and more shots at the goal. They had five in a row, with the fifth being a second goal. Once again, the goal was after a shot which was saved. This time, Justin Sullivan took a shot, which McGovern saved on a breakaway for WNE. Jordie Morgan followed the play and was able to poke the puck into the back of the goal. WNE trailed 3-2 with 5:50 remaining in the second. 1:42 later, the Golden Bears and Leopards were tied at three. Jordie Morgan would gather the puck after a WIT turnover in the WNE attacking zone. Morgan gave the puck to Everest Schneider, who sent a shot crashing into the goal netting, and WNE was tied 3-3 with WIT. Then, just like that, WNE had the lead. With 2:14 left in the second, Matty Zdanowicz got the puck from Jake Mendeszoon and sent a shot at goal, which Nolan Dawson deflected into the top-left corner of the goal. WNE led 4-3. WIT earned a power play with 1:25 remaining in the second but then was called for a penalty with 32 seconds remaining, and the second period of play ended with the teams skating 4-on-4. The stats after the second period of play saw WNE leading in shots 24-10 and shots on goal 16-4. WIT had more faceoffs won 11-9, blocked shots 5-1, and saves 12-4.

The final period of play started with the teams skating 4-on-4. The teams traded shots back and forth, but neither would score. The teams continued to trade shots until WNE was called for a penalty, and the Leopards earned a delayed penalty. With the goalie pulled, Dane Probe passed the puck to Cade Penney, who found Nikolas Sombrowski. Sombrowski glided in the middle of the WNE defensive zone and snapped a wrist shot into the back of the net. The game was tied 4-4 with 13:43 remaining. WIT kept pressure on the Golden Bears with three of the next four shots. WNE responded with three quick shots saved by McGovern. Then, WIT answered with three shots that went wide of the goal. With 5:58 left in regular time, the Leopards earned a power play chance. WIT had two shots, and WNE had a shorthanded shot during the penalty, but neither team scored. The Leopards kept the momentum rolling with three shots in a row after that. However, WNE had the final shot of the period after that, and the game would enter overtime. After three periods of play, WNE had more shots, 46-38, and more shots on goal, 30-22. WIT had more faceoff wins 32-31, more saves 26-18, and more blocked shots 10-7.

Overtime began with a WNE faceoff win. WNE would gain the first shot. It was followed by a WIT shot before Justin Sullivan would hit the post with a shot for WNE. Both teams would then take a timeout before play resumed, and both teams tested the opposing goalie after that, but no goals were scored, and the teams went to a shootout. The first WIT shootout shot was saved by Aureliano. Then, Jimmy Mettler and Alex Walicki made their shots. The second WNE shootout shot was saved, which made it 1-1 going into the third and possibly final shots. However, both shots were saved, and the teams went to a fourth shot. George Kolovos made the fourth WIT shot to put the pressure on Matty Zdanowicz, who would net the fourth shot for WNE and move the shootout to a fifth shot. The fifth WIT and WNE shots were saved by Aureliano and McGovern. So were the sixth shots for both teams. Cade Penney made the seventh WIT shootout shot. WNE would miss their final shot, and the Leopards would win the game 3-2 in an overtime shootout.

Coach's Corner:

Head coach Mike Young was asked for a comment after the game. "From where we started in the first 8 minutes to ending with a point, we had to dig real deep and it's good we found a way to scrap out a tie. We have to find a way to string 60 minutes together and we'll try to tomorrow night," Young answered. 

Inside the Crease:

• The men's ice hockey team traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, for a showdown with the Leopards.
• 1st 1:00 – Nolan Lowe scored the game's opening goal. Anthony Dalessio and George Kolovos had the assists. WIT led 1-0.
• 1st 7:10 – Nick Cullinan doubled the WIT lead off an assist from Max Pineo. WIT led 2-0.
• 1st 7:52 – Ethan Lim gave WIT a three-goal lead with assists from Alex Walicki and Dane Probe. WIT led 3-0.
• 2nd 1:08 – Brayden Patricia gave the Golden Bears their first goal of the game off an assist from Nolan Dawson and Matty Zdanowicz. WIT led 3-1.
• 2nd 14:10 – Jordie Morgan cut the WNE deficit to one with a goal assisted by Justin Sullivan. WIT led 3-2.
• 2nd 15:52 – Everest Schneider tied the game with a goal assisted by Jordie Morgan. The game was tied 3-3.
• 2nd 17:46 – Nolan Dawson gave the Golden Bears the lead with a goal assisted by Matty Zdanowicz and Jake Mendeszoon. WNE led 4-3.
• 3rd 6:17 – Nikolas Sombrowski scored to tie the game at four. Cade Penney and Dane Probe assisted the goal. The game was tied 4-4.
• The game went to overtime and a shootout.
• The Leopards netted three shots in seven rounds, and the Golden Bears netted two.
• Anthony Aureliano made 14 saves.
• Jack McGovern made 20 saves to earn the Leopards the shootout victory.
• The Leopards beat the Golden Bears 3-2 in a shootout.

Up Next on the Schedule:

The two teams will face off for a second day in a row on Saturday, November 23, 2024, in Brighton, Massachusetts, when the teams play their second of a weekend conference series at the Warrior Ice Arena.