BRIGHTON, Mass. (November 23, 2024) – The WNE men's ice hockey program was in Brighton, Massachusetts, for the Wounded Warrior Game at the Warrior Ice Arena versus the Wentworth Institute of Technology. The Golden Bears fell down 2-0 in the first period of play. However, WNE would score four unanswered goals, with two from Philippe Longchamps, and won the game 4-3.

Records:

Western New England: 2-5-0 (1-4-1)

Wentworth Institute of Technology: 3-4-1 (2-3-1)

How it Happened:

After a crazy back-and-forth game ended in a shootout on Friday, the Leopards and Golden Bears met again at the Warrior Ice Arena for their second game of the weekend series. Anthony Aureliano and Topher Chirico started in goal for WNE and WIT, respectively. The contest began with the Leopards earning the first few shots, but the Golden Bears would immediately answer with four in a row. The Leopards would then go on a 6-1 run on shots before the Golden Bears had three of the next four shots after that. Then, the game would go from 0-0 to 2-1 within 2:07. It started with Cade Penney skating the puck into the WNE defensive zone. Penney gave the puck to George Kolovos, who returned it to Penney in front of the goal. Penney slotted the puck into the back of the net, and WIT led 1-0 6:58 into the game. Each team had a shot before WIT doubled the lead. Dane Probe received a centering pass in front of the goal 8:17 into the game and sent the puck into the top-right corner of the goal. WIT led 2-0. WIT had a chance for a third goal saved by Aureliano. The puck would be sent down the ice. Chris Hibson gathered the puck and passed it down to Matthew Dougherty, who centered the puck to Philippe Longchamps, who scored Longchamps' first career Golden Bear goal. The Golden Bears trailed 2-1. 41 seconds later, Brayden Patricia had a breakaway chance, but Chirico made a great save to keep the Golden Bears down by one goal. The teams traded possession and shots for most of the rest of the first period, with not many major opportunities arising, and the Golden Bears still trailed 2-1 at the first intermission. WNE earned a power play opportunity at the end of the opening period of play. WNE had two shots, and WIT had one, but the score would not change, and the opening period of play ended. The Golden Bears trailed in shots 22-24, shots on goal 17-18, and faceoffs won 12-13. WNE led in blocked shots 6-1. Both teams had 16 saves.

The second period of play saw WNE take the lead. The WIT penalty ended without another shot from either team. The teams traded shots for a little while before WIT earned a power play chance. However, WNE would take over on the shorthanded penalty unit. They had four shots saved by Chirico before Jake Mendeszoon found Jordie Morgan with a long pass. Morgan fed Justin Sullivan the puck, and Sullivan found the netting to tie the game at 2-2 4:11 into the middle period of play. The penalty expired shortly after, but WNE was called for another penalty right after that. WIT had two shots, but neither tested Aureliano in goal. WIT would start to find more shot opportunities as they took twelve of the next fourteen shots. The WNE defense, along with Aureliano, were getting tested as the middle period of play started to come towards its conclusion. WNE earned a power play chance with 2:47 remaining in the second. Then, they would earn a 5-on-3 chance after a second WIT penalty. They had two shots during the 5-on-3 action. The first missed wide of the goal, and the second found the back of the net to give WNE the 3-2 lead. Jake Mendeszoon had the puck at the top of the WNE attacking zone. Mendeszoon sent the puck to Camille Marcoux, who sent a cross-ice pass to Everest Schneider. Schneider dragged the puck and sent a shot past the WIT goalie to give the Golden Bears the 3-2 lead with 54 seconds remaining in the second. WNE had three more power play shots to finish the second. After the second period of play, WIT led in shots 16-15, but WNE led in shots on goal 10-6. WNE led in faceoffs won 12-10. WIT led 6-5 in blocked shots and saves 8-6.

The third and final period of play began with WNE on the power play but they could only muster one shot and it was saved by Chirico. The teams traded shots until WIT earned a power play chance. WIT had four of the five shots during the power play. Aureliano and the WNE defense kept the Leopards out of the goal. WIT had the momentum, though, and had five shots in a row and eleven of the next twelve shots after the power play was complete. WNE was then called for another penalty with just under ten minutes remaining in the game. Not much came from the WIT power play except more momentum for the Leopards. They had five more shots in a row after the power play. However, the momentum was squashed by Philippe Longchamps scoring a second goal. Matthew Dougherty gathered the puck, skating up the right side of the boards on a 2-on-1 scoring chance. Dougherty found Longchamps with a centering pass, and Longchamps scored. WNE led 4-2 with 6:48 remaining in the game. That did not stop WIT from trying to send pressure at Aureliano in net. They had six of the next eight shots and then pulled their goalie before having four more shots in a row. The fourth shot was after a pass from Ethan Lim to Alex Walicki. Walicki took the shot and scored to make the score 4-3, WNE, with 1:21 remaining in the game. After the ensuing faceoff, WIT would pull their goalie. They had five more shots including a major chance at the end of the game, which Aureliano made an outstanding save on to secure the 4-3 win for WNE. The final stats showed WIT leading in shots 78-44, shots on goal 42-33, and faceoffs won 33-32. WNE led in blocked shots 26-8 and saves 39-29.

Coach's Corner:

Two-goal scorer Philippe Longchamps was asked how it was skating out in the Warrior Ice Arena, the practice facility for the Boston Bruins. "It was for sure impressive, but we had the mindset before the game to focus on our game and not where we were playing, and I think we executed that very well. We played a very physical game out there and played it simple, and it paid off," Longchamps mentioned. Longchamps was also asked to take us through Longchamps' two goals. "First one, I saw my senior (Dougherty) out there with the puck on the other side. I just rushed to the net, (Dougherty) passed it to me, and the same with the second one. I just was skating to the net and hoping for a good bounce or a pass, and I got lucky bounces and buried it."

Head coach Mike Young was asked for a comment after the game. "I think we played a really physical game, which definitely paid dividends in the second period. I think our intensity increased every shift, and we charged the net," Young replied. When asked about Longchamps' two-goal performance, Young stated, "He's been battling an injury, so it's nice to see him get consecutive games and he came up with two big goals."

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears hosted the Leopards at the Warrior Ice Arena on Saturday.
• 1st 6:58 – Cade Penney scored the game's first goal off an assist from George Kolovos. WIT led 1-0.
• 1st 8:17 – Dane Probe doubled the Leopards' lead off an assist from Alex Walicki. WIT led 2-0.
• 1st 9:05 – Philippe Longchamps cut the WNE deficit in half with a goal assisted by Matthew Dougherty and Chris Hibson. WIT led 2-1.
• 2nd 4:11 – Justin Sullivan netted a shorthanded goal off assists from Jordie Morgan and Jake Mendeszoon. The game was tied 2-2.
• 2nd 19:05.9 – Everest Schneider gave the Golden Bears the lead with a goal assisted by Camille Marcoux and Jake Mendeszoon. WNE led 3-2.
• 3rd 13:12 – Philippe Longchamps doubled the Golden Bears' lead off an assist from Matthew Dougherty. WNE led 4-2.
• 3rd 18:39 – Alex Walicki scored an extra-man goal to cut the deficit to one. Ethan Lim was credited with the assist. WNE led 4-3.
• Topher Chirico made 29 saves.
• Anthony Aureliano made 39 saves to earn the Golden Bears the win.
• WNE beat WIT 4-3.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will host MCLA on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 6:30 PM at the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
• The Leopards will travel to the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, November 30, 2024, at 3:00 PM.