West Springfield, Mass. (February 10, 2024) – The Women's Ice Hockey team celebrated their first-ever Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at the Olympia Ice Center. They hosted the Curry College Colonels, who were coming off a non-conference loss to Amherst College. The Golden Bears scored the game's opening goal in the first. However, the Colonels would answer in the second period of play. Both teams would score seconds apart in the third and go to overtime and a shootout. The Colonels would win the game in a shootout. Jenna Lynch and Alyssa Murphy had the goals for the Golden Bears.

Records:

• Western New England: 14-7-3 (10-5-2)
• Curry College: 9-11-3 (5-8-3)

How it Happened:

The teams jumped on the ice as the Golden Bears celebrated Senior Day for the first time in program history before the start of the game. Rieley Jessie-Gerelli and Soleil Archambeault were the starting goalies for the Golden Bears and Colonels, respectively. The game started with Hannah Berkowitz winning the opening faceoff for the Colonels. The Colonels had the opening shot; however, the Golden Bears had the next four shots. Then, the Golden Bears went on to the power play. The Golden Bears had six power play shots. None of the shots tested Archambeault. The Colonels would answer with two shots after the penalty kill. The Golden Bears were then called for a penalty shortly after the shots. The Colonels had five shots during the power play, with four shots on goal being saved by Jessie-Gerelli.

With 7:51 left in the opening period of play, Jenna Lynch got the Golden Bears on the scoreboard. Maddy Tucker poked the puck up and into the Colonels' defensive zone. Jenna Lynch skated to the puck, took it from right to left, around a defender, and sent it past the goalie. The Golden Bears led 1-0. The Colonels answered with ten shots and five on goal, which Jessie-Gerelli saved. Both teams had a shot to end the first. After one period of play, total shots and shots on goal favored the Colonels 19-13 and 10-4, respectively. Both teams had a power play opportunity and six faceoffs won. The Golden Bears had more blocked shots, 6-5. The Golden Bears led in saves 10-3. The score was 1-0 after one.

The second period of play started with Hannah Berkowitz getting another opening faceoff win for the Colonels. Shots went back and forth for a while to begin the second period of play. Then, 4:32 into the second, Danielle Reid evened the score at one for the Colonels. Reid gave the puck to Tommi Nash, who fed it back to Reid. Reid skated into the Golden Bears defensive zone, skated towards the net, and sent a quick wrist shot past the goalie. The game was tied 1-1. There were a few shots combined between the two teams before the Golden Bears were called for a penalty. The Colonels had three shots during their power play opportunity. However, only one shot made it to the net, and Jessie-Gerelli saved it. The teams went back and forth, trying to notch the next goal in the intense battle. With 7:58 left in the second, the Colonels started to shoot six shots in a row against the Golden Bears. Both teams would then have three shots each. Archambeault and Jessie-Gerelli did a nice job keeping the game stuck at 1-1. The Colonels were then called for a penalty.

The Golden Bears had another six shots on the power play opportunity. Three of the shots made it to Archambault, who saved each one. The Colonels would have the final shot of the second, which Jessie-Gerelli saved. After the second period of play, the stat line showed the Golden Bears lead in total shots 22-21 and shots on goal 11-9. The Colonels led in faceoffs won 9-5, and saves 11-8. Both teams had a power play opportunity. The Golden Bears blocked more shots, 8-3. The game was tied 1-1 after two periods of play. 

The third started with Abby Hay winning the opening faceoff for the Golden Bears. The teams went back and forth, trading shot after shot. The Golden Bears had the crowd behind them and were looking for that second goal. The Colonels countered the momentum from the crowd with four shots in a row six minutes into the third. Then, the Golden Bears went on the power play. The Golden Bears had four shots during the power play. The fourth and final shot of the power play was a goal from Alyssa Murphy. Maddie Pope sent the puck across the ice to Kelly Yorkey, who set up Alyssa Murphy for a shot that was blocked by a Colonel defender. Murphy got the rebound, skated to the right of the net, and sent a shot across the goal into the top left corner of the net. The Golden Bears led 2-1. However, the Colonels would answer quickly. Twenty-seven seconds later, Ava Doyle sent a shot toward the WNE goal, which Julia Small deflected to Hannah Berkowitz. Berkowitz would hit the puck into the back of the WNE net, and the score was tied 2-2. 

The Golden Bears had a shot after the Curry College goal. However, the Colonels then had seven shots in a row. The Golden Bears would be called for a penalty after that stretch of shots. The Colonels had eight shots during the power play, with four on goal. Jessie-Gerelli made each save. The Colonels had a shot right after the power play expired. Then, the Golden Bears had five shots to end the third in a row. However, no goal was scored, and the game would continue into overtime. The third saw the Colonels lead in total shots 24-14 and shots on goal 14-6. The Golden Bears led in faceoffs won 10-5, blocked shots 5-3, and saves 13-5. The Golden Bears were 1-1 on the power play, and the Colonels were 0-1.

Overtime started with Maddie Pope winning the opening faceoff for the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears had the first shot. The Colonels answered with two shots. The Golden Bears then had three shots, with two saved by Archambeault. The Colonels were called for a penalty. The Golden Bears then had a power play. The Golden Bears had three shots during the power play saved by Archambeault. Jessie-Gerelli also had to make a save. Both teams had a shot after the power play. However, there were still no more goals. So the teams went to a shootout. Danielle Reid started the shootout with a goal. Maddie Pope had a shot saved. Then, Hannah Berkowitz and Jenna Lynch both had their shots saved. Grayson Goolgasian would have a shot saved, which left it up to Kelly Yorkey. Yorkey skated in and scored for the Golden Bears to keep the game going. Julia Small and Alyssa Murphy had their shots saved. However, Anna Kahl netted the next shootout goal. Zoe Galanoudis was not able to answer, and the Colonels won the game in a shootout. The stats for the game showed the Colonels lead 68-57 in total shots and 35-27 in shots on goal. The Golden Bears had more faceoff wins 24-20, more blocked shots 19-12, and more saves 33-25. The Golden Bears were 1-4 on the power play, and the Colonels were 0-3. The Colonels won via a shootout 2-1.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears welcomed the Colonels to town for Senior Day.
• Jenna Lynch opened the scoring with a goal 12:09 into the game. Maddy Tucker was credited with the assist. The Golden Bears led 1-0.
• Danielle Reid notched the equalizing goal for the Colonels 4:32 into the second period of play. Tommi Nash had the assist. The score was tied 1-1.
• Alyssa Murphy netted a power play goal to put the Golden Bears back in front. Kelly Yorkey and Maddie Pope had the assists. The Golden Bears led 2-1 10:03 into the third.
• Hannah Berkowitz netted the game-tying goal 10:37 into the third period of play. Julia Small and Ava Doyle were credited with the assists. The game was tied 2-2.
• The game went to overtime and a shootout.
• Danielle Reid and Kelly Yorkey scored for the Colonels and Golden Bears, respectively, during the first three rounds of the shootout.
• Anna Kahl scored the shootout-winning goal for the Colonels.
• Rieley Jessie-Gerelli made 33 saves.
• Soleil Archambeault made 25 saves and earned the shootout win.
• The Colonels won the game 2-1 in a shootout.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will travel to the University of New England for their final regular season game. They will play at the Harold Alfond Forum on Saturday, February 17, at 7:00 PM.
• The Colonels will travel to Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink in Boston, Massachusetts, for their next game against the Suffolk University Rams. That game will be on Friday, February 10, at 6:00 PM.