Middlebury, VT. (March 6, 2024) – The Golden Bears skated into their first NCAA tournament game in program history on Wednesday night. The Golden Bears were hosted by the Panthers of Middlebury College, who won the NESCAC title on March 2 over Amherst College. The Panthers netted two goals in the first, four in the second, and two in the third to win the game 8-0. Sophia Will made 21 saves for the Panthers, and earned the shutout victory. 

Records:

• Western New England: 17-8-3 (11-5-2)
• Middlebury College: 17-6-4 (10-3-3)

How it Happened:

After a morning skate for both teams at Chip Kenyon '85 Arena earlier on Wednesday, the teams took the ice for the opening round matchup of the NCAA tournament. The Golden Bears had senior Rieley Jessie-Gerelli in net. The Panthers had sophomore Sophia Will in net. Allison Walker won the opening faceoff for the Golden Bears, and the game got underway. The teams got a feeling for the game in the first five minutes as they went back and forth with the puck. Cat Appleyard had the first shot of the game. Jessie-Gerelli made the save. Jenna Lynch would answer with a shot saved by Will. The Panthers would start to gain their footing and pressure the Golden Bears. They had eleven shots in a row, with five shots testing the WNE goalie. That's when Maddie Pope would get open on the right side of the net and send a shot right at goal, which Will had to save.

The Panthers pushed back with three more shots in a row. After another Golden Bear shot, the Panthers had eleven shots in a row and two goals. The first goal came from Avery McInerny with 3:01 left in the first. Rachel Neyman sent a shot at goal, which the Golden Bears blocked. Kate Flynn got the puck behind the Golden Bear net. Flynn sent the puck in front of the net for McInerny, who flipped the puck into the goal. After four more shots, the Panthers would get another goal. This goal was from Delanie Goniwiecha with 1:56 left in the opening period of play. Olivia McManus sent a quick pass to Liv Fernandez, who pushed the puck back to Goniwiecha, who slotted the puck into the back of the net, over the goalie's shoulder. The Panthers led 2-0, and after a few more shots, the teams went into the break with Middlebury College in the lead. After one period of play, the stat sheet saw the Panthers lead in shots on goal, 18-6, and total shots, 33-10. The Golden Bears led in blocked shots, 10-3, and saves 16-6. Both teams had nine faceoff wins in the opening period of play.

The second period of play started with Jordan Hower winning the opening faceoff for the Panthers. Brie Dube had the first shot of the second. It was saved by Will. The Panthers had three shots in a row before the Golden Bears were called for a penalty. Middlebury College had four shots during the power play. The fourth shot ended in a goal. It was Avery McInerny picking up a second goal of the game. Julia Johnson fed a pass over to Cece Ziegler, who found McInerny. McInerny skated in and snapped a wrist shot past the goalie to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead early in the second.

The Golden Bears would have two shots after the Panthers had a shot following the goal. Jenna Lynch had a shot saved by Will. Shortly after, the Golden Bears were called for another penalty. After the Golden Bears were able to clear the zone, the Panthers got back into a rhythm on the power play. After a little, Avery McInerny found Sabrina Kim behind the net. Kim quickly fed the puck to Kate Flynn, who skated into the puck and hit it into the back of the net. The Panthers had a 4-0 lead with 13:09 left in the second. The Panthers had six shots in a row before the Golden Bears would have a few opportunities in the Panthers' defensive zone. Possession was quickly changed, and Kate Flynn had the puck skating toward the WNE goal. Flynn took a quick shot and found the back of the net. The Panthers led 5-0 with 10:24 left in the second. The Golden Bears had a shot blocked before the Panthers had another three shots in a row. The Golden Bears would answer with a few shots, one of which had to be saved by Will.

After a shot from the Panthers, the Golden Bears had another two shots saved by Will. The Panther had six shots in a row after that. The sixth shot would be the fourth Panther goal of the second. Sabrina Kim would pass the puck up to Cat Appleyard, who found Jordan Hower across the crease. Hower would find the net with the shot, and the Panthers led 6-0. Fifty-two seconds later, the teams left the ice for the second intermission. The second period of play's stat sheet showed Middlebury College had more total shots, 32-12, more shots on goal, 24-7, and more faceoffs won, 11-8. The Golden Bears had more saves, 20-7, and more blocked shots, 6-2. The Panthers held a 6-0 lead with one period of play remaining. 

Jordan Hower won the opening faceoff for the Panthers. The Panthers would then have two shots before the Golden Bears had two shots saved by Will. The Golden Bears were trying to build momentum to a goal. However, the Panthers and Audrey Lazar would score a seventh goal. Julia Johnson passed the puck to Selia Coady at the point. Coady skated forward and sent a shot at Jessie-Gerelli, which was saved, but the rebound found Lazar, who netted the goal. The Panthers led 7-0, 3:49 into the third. The Panthers did not let up. The Panthers had sixteen of the next seventeen shots. The final shot of that stretch saw Raia Schluter net the eighth Golden Bear goal. Molly MacQueen gained control of the puck on the left side of the Golden Bear net and sent a pass to Schluter, who skated at the goal and put the puck past the goalie. The Panthers led 8-0 with 9:37 remaining in the game. The teams went back and forth with shots before the Panthers had four shots in a row. The Golden Bears would answer with two shots before a penalty was called against WNE. The Panthers had three shots during the power play. The Golden Bears would kill off the power play and have a shot on goal saved. The Panthers had five shots in a row after the power play. The Golden Bears had another shot before seeing the Panthers finish the game with two more shots. The game ended with the Panthers leading in total shots, 103-34, shots on goal, 62-21, and faceoff wins, 34-22. The Golden Bears had more blocked shots, 22-7, and more saves, 54-21. The Panthers won the game 8-0.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears traveled to Middlebury College for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Avery McInerny netted the game's opening goal at the 16:59 mark in the first period of play. Kate Flynn and Rachel Neyman had the assists. The Panthers led 1-0.
• Delanie Goniwiecha scored the second goal for the Panthers at the 18:04 mark in the first. Liv Fernandez and Olivia McManus assisted the goal. The Panthers led 2-0.
• Avery McInerny scored a power play goal to push the lead to 3-0 for the Panthers. Cece Ziegler and Julia Johnson had the assists. The goal was scored 2:44 into the second period of play.
• Kate Flynn notched a power play goal 6:51 into the second. Avery McInerny and Sabrina Kim assisted the fourth Middlebury College goal. The Panthers led 4-0.
• Kate Flynn pushed the Panthers' lead to 5-0 with a goal 9:36 into the second. The goal was unassisted.
• Jordan Hower scored the sixth Panther goal, and Cat Appleyard and Sabrina Kim assisted. The Panthers led 6-0 19:08 into the second period of play. 
• Audrey Lazar had the seventh Panther goal of the game. Selia Coady and Julia Johnson had assists for the goal. The Panthers led 7-0 3:49 into the final period of play.
• Raia Schluter notched the eighth and final goal for the Panthers. Molly MacQueen had the assist for the Panthers. The score was 8-0 10:23 into the third. 
• Rieley Jessie-Gerelli made 54 saves.
• Sophia Will made 21 saves and earned a shutout win.
• The Panthers beat the Golden Bears 8-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears' season will end at 17-8-3 and 11-5-2 within the conference. The Golden Bears won the conference championship for the first time in program history.
• The Panthers' season will continue as they travel to SUNY Plattsburg for their quarterfinal game on Saturday, March 9, at 3:00 p.m.