Wingate, N.C. (March 19, 2024) – The Golden Bears traveled down to Wingate, North Carolina, where they took on Nazareth University. The Golden Flyers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. However, the Golden Bears would answer with six goals in a row before giving up one at the end of the first half to lead 6-3 at halftime. The Golden Flyers picked up a goal in the third quarter by scoring four goals to the three from the Golden Bears. Then, they went on a 7-2 run, with five goals in a row, to end the game and beat the Golden Bears 14-11. Dylan Hanley led the Golden Bears, having eight points on eleven Golden Bear goals.

Records:

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

Nazareth University: 6-3 (0-0)

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears and goalie Carter Randall played the Golden Flyers and goalie McLean Ralston. The teams would move back and forth down the field with both teams looking for the opening goal, but neither succeeded for the first five minutes. That would change when Quinn McKercher got a pass from Matthew Farrington and found the back of the net to give the Golden Flyers the one-goal lead. WNE would have a man-up opportunity with 5:49 left in the opening quarter. However, they would not be able to capitalize. Then, the Golden Bears were called for a penalty, giving Nazareth University the man-up opportunity. Quinn McKercher would take advantage of it by scoring on the man-up opportunity. The goal was assisted by Louis Cogliandro, and the score was 2-0 Golden Flyers with 2:43 left in the first. The Golden Bears would then answer strongly. It started with a goal from Jack Houlden, assisted by Dylan Hanley, with 1:09 left. Then, after a Golden Flyers' penalty, Jacob Roy netted a goal assisted by Dylan Hanley to score on the man-up opportunity and make the score 2-2 after one period of play. The stat sheet saw the Golden Bears lead 11-10 in shots, 7-6 in shots on goal, 10-9 in ground balls, and 3-2 in faceoff wins. The Golden Flyers had more saves, 5-4.

The second quarter saw the Golden Bears extend their lead by scoring four more goals in a row. It started with David Noel 1:19 into the second. Noel received a pass from Dylan Hanley and netted the goal. Then, 1:06 later, Hanley found Thomas Labbe for a goal. The Golden Bears would have a man-up opportunity between the fourth and fifth goals but would not be able to score. However, the Golden Bears would eventually net that next goal. Hanley kept dishing out assists, with another assist at 8:16 left in the second. This one was to Jack Houlden once again. The Golden Bears led 5-2. The Golden Bears' scoring run would finish with an unassisted goal by Zachary Mein with 5:01 left in the first half. The Golden Flyers had a man-up opportunity with 3:17 left in the half but could not get a goal. The scoring in the second quarter would finish with a goal from Matthew Farrington, assisted by William O'Neill. After one half of play, the Golden Bears led 6-3. The stat sheet looked similar after the first half, with the Golden Bears having more shots 22-17, more shots on goal 13-9, more ground balls 23-17, and more faceoff wins 7-4. The Golden Flyers led 7-6 in saves. 

The third started with Dylan Hanley scoring his first goal of the game 1:24 into the second half. Then, the Golden Flyers would make another run with three goals in a row. It started at 8:04 left in the third quarter. William O'Neill notched a goal assisted by Kyle Rosenberger. Then, Quinn McKercher picked up goals three and four for McKercher in the game. The first goal was assisted by Quinn Conroy with 6:15 left in the third. William O'Neill sent McKercher the pass for that fourth goal with 4:50 left. With those three goals, the Golden Flyers pulled the score back to 7-6. Dylan Hanley and the Golden Bears did not get frantic, though. They played their game and got two goals to answer the three from the Golden Flyers. Hanley would assist James Wrynn in their first goal. Then, Hanley would score on an assist from Zachary Mein to push the Golden Bear lead to 9-6. However, with forty-four seconds left in the third, Andy Hamel scored for the Golden Flyers, and the score was 9-7 with one quarter to play. The third quarter saw the Golden Bears lead 13-6 in shots, 9-5 in shots on goal, 10-2 in ground balls, and 6-1 in faceoff wins. The Golden Flyers led in saves, 6-1.

With fifteen minutes remaining in the game, Chris Catousco won the opening faceoff, which led to Jacob Roy scoring an unassisted goal to put the Golden Bears back up three. Less than a minute later, William Meagher netted a goal on an assist from Anthony Menickelli. Then, after a WNE penalty, Quinn McKercher scored on the man-up opportunity off an assist from Quinn Conroy. The Golden Flyers now only trailed by one. Jack Houlden answered with a goal assisted by Brian Madden, to push the WNE lead back up to two. However, the Golden Flyers would score four goals in 1:38 to retake the lead for the first time since the beginning of the game. Andy Hamel took a pass from Matthew Farrington and scored. Then, Farrington took a pass from Quinn Conroy after a man-up opportunity expired and scored. Twenty-two seconds after that, Quinn McKercher scored off an assist from Luke Suchyna. The final goal of the run came from Matthew Farrington, who received a pass from Kyle Rosenberger and buried a goal to put the Golden Fliers up by a score of 13-11. The Golden Flyers would score one more goal to punctuate the win. William Meagher got a pass from Kyle Rosenberger and sent the ball into the back of the Golden Bear net. That is how the game would end: the Golden Flyers took down the Golden Bears 14-11. The final stat line showed the Golden Bears lead in shots 46-34, shots on goal 26-21, ground balls 40-25, and faceoff wins 18-10. The Golden Flyers led in saves 15-7. 

Inside The Crease:

• The Golden Bears matched up against Nazareth University in a game down in Wingate, North Carolina.
• The Golden Bears were led by Dylan Hanley, who had two goals and six assists for eight total points.
• The Golden Flyers were led by Quinn McKercher, who had six goals and six total points.
• Chris Catousco won 18 out of 27 faceoff attempts and picked up 14 ground balls for the Golden Bears.
• Carter Randall made seven saves for the Golden Bears.
• McLean Ralston made 15 saves and earned the win for the Golden Flyers.
• The Golden Flyers won the game 14-11. 

Up Next:

• The Golden Bears will return to Golden Bear Stadium for their next game on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at 1:00 PM. They will host the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
• The Golden Flyers will travel to Albany, N.Y., for their next game against Russel Sage University on Saturday, March 23, 2024. That game will be played at 1:00 PM.