Springfield, Mass. (February 20, 2024) – The Golden Bears hosted the Keene State College Owls in their first game of the 2024 campaign. WNE jumped out to a quick lead by outscoring the Owls 8-2 in the first quarter and 6-1 in the second. The teams both had three goals in the third, and the Owls outscored the Golden Bears 5-2 in the fourth. The final score was 19-11, WNE, with Dylan Hanley leading the Golden Bears with five goals and four assists for a total of nine points.

Records:

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

Keene State College: 0-2 (0-0)

How it Happened:

The game started with Carter Randall and Charlie Giuliotti in goal for the Golden Bears and Owls, respectively. The Golden Bears started quickly by having three goals in the first 2:48 of the game. Dylan Hanley notched the first goal of the season for WNE. Jack Houlden got the next two goals, with Hanley assisting on both goals. That third goal was immediately followed by a Keene State College timeout. Chris Catuosco won a fourth faceoff in a row after the timeout, which led to the Golden Bears securing possession and a fourth goal courtesy of Dylan Hanley. It was over three minutes before another goal was scored. It was the Golden Bears pushing their lead to five with Nicholas Campagnone's first goal of the season. Dylan Hanley had the assist once again. The Owls were called for a penalty after the goal. The Golden Bears scored their sixth and seventh goals after, but neither were on the man-up advantage. Jack Houlden and Dylan Hanley were responsible for the goals. Brian Madden fed Houlden for the sixth goal. Chris Catuosco's seven faceoff wins in a row ended after the seventh WNE goal when Jack Ricci won the faceoff for Keene State College. After Carter Randall's second save of the day, the Golden Bears ran down the field and got goal number eight with Jacob Roy's first goal of the year. Jack Ricci would win another faceoff, which led to the Owls getting on the board after Ben Tukey scored. Tim Souza scored the second goal for the Owls with thirteen seconds left in the opening quarter. The Golden Bears led 8-2 after the first.

The second started with the Golden Bears on the man-up advantage. They would not score on the advantage; however, shortly after it ended, Thomas Labbe netted a goal. That goal was followed by another one, this time from James Wrynn. Joseph Bussinelli found Wrynn for the goal. Catuosco's faceoff circle excellence continued with a win, and shortly after, Zachary Mein would net the eleventh Golden Bear goal of the first half. Hanley had the assist. The Golden Bears kept the pressure up with two goals later in the second. Hanley and Labbe were the goal scorers. With 1:41 left in the first half, Joseph Bussinelli scored off an assist from Joseph Contino. Rex Maccarini would score for the Owls with thirty-seven seconds left in the half. The Golden Bears led 14-3 after the first half of the game.

The third saw the Golden Bears get called for a penalty early in the quarter. The Owls took advantage of it, with Jack Ansart scoring on the man-up advantage. Rex Maccarini had the assist. The Golden Bears answered eight seconds later with a Brock Busa faceoff win and goal. That was Busa's first career Golden Bear goal. The Owls answered a little over a minute later with a Jack Ansart goal. The Golden Bears then took advantage of a man-up opportunity when Dylan Hanley scored a fifth goal of the game off an assist from Thomas Labbe. Jack Ansart scored the sixth Owl goal on the day after an assist from Rex Maccarini. Jonathan Salsbury then entered at goalie for the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears scored the final goal of the quarter with 5:06 left in it. Kevin Morina was the Golden Bear who netted the goal. Joseph Contino with the assist. The Golden Bears were called for a penalty later in the third, but the Owls were not able to score during the man-up advantage. The Golden Bears led 17-6.

The fourth saw the Golden Bears get called for two penalties early. Then, after a penalty on the Owls, WNE scored on the man-up advantage, thanks to Jacob Roy's second goal of the game. Ryan Valentine would then enter at goal for the Owls. With 7:36 left in the game, Chris Adriaansen netted a goal for the Owls. Andrew Miller got another goal for the Owls to make the score 18-8. Matthew Quinlan had the assist. There were matching penalties called with 6:19 left. The Golden Bears would score almost a minute later. It was Max Rudger's first career Golden Bear goal. The Owls would finish the game with three goals in a row. Andrew Miller and Sebastian Foresi had the first two goals. The Golden Bears then saw Justin Loveland enter the game at goalie. Andrew Miller scored the final goal for the Owls, and Jeffrey Wojtowicz would then finish the game at goalie for the Golden Bears. The final score was 19-11, WNE. 

Inside The Crease:

• The Golden Bears hosted the Keene State College Owls in their first game of the season.
• Dylan Hanley led the Golden Bears with nine points, including five goals and four assists.
• Jack Houlden collected three goals on the afternoon. 
• Alex Henry caused three turnovers for the Golden Bears.
• Chris Catuosco had nine ground balls and won twelve of thirteen faceoffs for WNE.
• The Golden Bears had thirteen saves, with Carter Randall making five and Jonathan Salsbury making eight.
• Rex Maccarini led the Owls with four points, which included a goal and three assists.
• Both Andrew Miller and Jack Ansart had three goals for the Owls.
• The Golden Bears won the game 19-11.

Up Next:

• The Golden Bears will travel to Canton, N.Y., for their next game against St. Lawrence University on Sunday, February 25, 2024, at 1:00 PM.
• The Owls will travel to Boston, Massachusetts, for a meeting with the Wentworth Institute of Technology. That game will be on Saturday, February 24, at 1:00 PM.