Springfield, Mass. (March 23, 2024) – The Golden Bears returned to Golden Bear Stadium to host the United States Merchant Marine Academy on campus for a rainy Saturday afternoon game. After trailing 2-0 early in the first, the Golden Bears went on a 15-5 run during the rest of the game, including scoring all six goals scored in the third quarter. The Golden Bears beat the Mariners 15-7. The Golden Bears were led in points by Dylan Hanley, who had three goals and three assists. Jack Houlden led the Golden Bears in goals scored with five. Carter Randall made 11 saves in the win.

Result:

Western New England: 3-4 (0-0)

United States Merchant Marine Academy: 3-3 (0-0)

How it Happened:

On a cold and rainy day in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Golden Bears hosted the Mariners of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. The game started with Carter Randall and Julian Garcia in net for the Golden Bears and Mariners, respectively. 1:32 into the game, the Mariners opened the scoring. Owen Behr scored on an assist from Jack Collins. Eight seconds later, Owen Barcus got a pass from Chris Neuman and scored. The Mariners were out to a quick 2-0 lead. The Golden Bears would pick up their first goal of the game when Joseph Contino got a pass from Dylan Hanley and scored. Owen Barcus answered for the Mariners a few minutes later to push the lead back to two. With 5:11 left in the first quarter, David Noel scored an unassisted goal to cut the deficit to one. Then, with 2:16 left in the quarter, Dylan Hanley scored to tie the game at three. That is how the score would read at the end of the quarter. The Mariners led 11-9 in shots. However, the Golden Bears led in saves 4-2, faceoffs won 6-1, and ground balls 10-7. 

The second quarter started with a lot of back-and-forth action. Garcia and Randall were making saves, and the defenses were causing turnovers. With 6:51 left in the second quarter, the Golden Bears were called for a penalty. However, the Mariners were not able to capitalize on the opportunity. Then, with 5:12 left in the second, Zachary Mein found Dylan Hanley, who netted the goal, and the Golden Bears took the lead. Just over a minute later, Andrew Huta found Dylan Hanley for another goal, and WNE had a 5-3 lead. Jack Collins would answer with a goal for the Mariners with 2:11 left in the first half. With thirty-six seconds left in the half, Alex Henry found Jack Houlden for the sixth Golden Bear goal of the game. That was answered by the Mariners and William Badeer with one second remaining in the half. Badeer was assisted by Owen Behr for the goal. The Golden Bears led the Mariners 6-5 at halftime. At halftime, the stats favored the Golden Bears. WNE had more shots 20-14, more faceoffs won 8-4, and more ground balls 16-11. Both goalies had made five saves. The score was 6-5 after one half of play.

The third quarter saw the Golden Bears take a commanding lead. It started 1:05 into the quarter. Thomas Labbe scored an unassisted goal. Then, a penalty on USMMA gave the Golden Bears a man-up opportunity, which Jack Houlden capitalized on with a goal assisted by Dylan Hanley. Jack Houlden would score again almost three minutes later. That goal was unassisted. The Golden Bears were now leading 9-5. Zachary Mein was the next Golden Bear to find the goal. Mein scored an unassisted goal with 5:34 left in the quarter. 1:34 later, Joseph Contino found Jack Houlden for another Golden Bear goal. The Golden Bears were called for a minor penalty nine seconds later. The Mariners would not get a goal during the man-up opportunity, though. With 1:17 left in the third, Dylan Hanley found Brian Madden, who netted the sixth Golden Bear goal of the quarter. The Golden Bears had a seven-goal lead going into the fourth quarter. The third quarter saw the Golden Bears lead in shots 14-7, saves 4-3, faceoffs won 5-2, and ground balls 9-6. 

The final quarter started with the Golden Bears on the man-up advantage after a penalty was called at the end of the third quarter. The Mariners would keep them from scoring on the opportunity. Griffin LaRochelle would notch a goal 4:36 into the final quarter. That put the Golden Bears up eight. 1:01 later, Jacob Roy found Jack Houlden for goal number fourteen for the Golden Bears. William Badeer would score to cut the WNE lead back down to eight. Jack Collins had the assist. Dylan Nardone answered for the Golden Bears after getting a pass from Nicholas Campagnone. The final goal of the game came from Owen Barcus, who took a pass from Jack DeTommaso and scored. After four quarters of play, the Golden Bears won the game 15-7. The final stat line saw the Golden Bears lead in shots 45-29, faceoffs won 14-10, and ground balls 29-21. Both goalies made eleven saves. 

Inside The Crease:

• The Golden Bears took on the United States Merchant Marine Academy in a rainy afternoon game in Golden Bear Stadium.
• Dylan Hanley notched six total points for the Golden Bears (three goals and three assists).
• Jack Houlden netted five goals to lead WNE in goals scored. 
• Jack Collins and Owen Barcus led the Mariners with three points each. Collins notched one goal and two assists. Barcus had three goals.
• Chris Catousco led the Golden Bears with eight ground balls and went 11-15 from the faceoff circle.
• Carter Randall made eleven saves and had a save percentage of .611.
• The Golden Bears won the game 15-7.

• The Golden Bears will stay at home for their next game. They will host a rematch of last year's CCC Championship game against Endicott College. The game will be on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at 7:00 PM in Golden Bear Stadium.
• The Mariners will host the United States Coast Guard Academy in their next game. That game will be on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at 7:00 PM.