Springfield, Mass. (May 1, 2024) – The Golden Bears hosted the Roger Williams University Hawks in the CCC tournament semifinals. The Golden Bears led the entire way. They were up 5-2 after the first, 9-6 at the half, 11-8 after three, and won the game 16-11. Dylan Hanley led the Golden Bears by tallying six points, with three goals and three assists. Jacob Roy notched four goals, and Chris Catuosco won 18 of 28 faceoffs. Carter Randall made eight saves to earn the win for WNE.

Records:

No. 2 Western New England: 11-6 (6-1)

No. 3 Roger Williams University: 13-6 (5-2)

How it Happened:

Carter Randall and Aaron D'Aversa started the game in between the posts for the Golden Bears and Hawks, respectively. The Hawks were called for a penalty sixteen seconds into the game. However, the Golden Bears could not capitalize. TJ Dalicandro got the scoring started 2:14 into the game. Alex Henry had the assist. Zachary Mein would double the lead less than a minute later off an assist from Jack Houlden. The teams went back and forth for a little while before Brian Gazard scored an unassisted goal to cut the WNE lead in half. Brian Madden answered with a goal 1:31 later. Dylan Hanley would score a goal, as well, 1:31 later, to make it 4-1. Roger Williams was called for a penalty with 2:26 remaining in the opening quarter. Jacob Roy would capitalize for the Golden Bears thirty seconds later. Roy scored after a Dylan Hanley assist. Then, Matt Halpin scored for the Hawks with 1:09 left, and the score was 5-2 at half after D'Aversa made a big save with four seconds left in the quarter. The first quarter stats showed WNE lead in shots 15-3 and ground balls 12-5. The teams tied with four faceoff wins each, and the Hawks led in saves 5-1.

Dylan Hanley extended the Golden Bear lead 1:08 into the second. Almost 1:30 later, Kevin Murphy responded with a goal after an assist from Matt Halpin. The score was 6-3. Jack Houlden got on the board with a goal 3:14 into the quarter to push the score to 7-3. Then, with 9:12 remaining, Matt Halpin answered for the Hawks. Brian Gazard was credited with the assist. The Golden Bears were called for a two-minute major penalty with 5:01 left in the second. The Hawks scored twice on the man-up opportunity. Kevin Murphy scored the first twenty-two seconds into the opportunity. WNE would take a timeout. However, with ten seconds remaining on the opportunity, Brian Gazard scored to make the score 7-6. Jack Kester had the assist. RWU was then called for a penalty with 2:06 left in the half. Jack Houlden would score thirty-nine seconds into the opportunity to extend the WNE lead. Jacob Roy scored after a WNE timeout, with fourteen seconds remaining to put the Golden Bears up 9-6 going into halftime. The halftime stats showed the Golden Bears leading in shots 31-11, faceoffs won 10-7, and ground balls 22-10. The Hawks led in saves 9-4.

The third quarter saw the defenses and goalies take over. Only four goals were scored between both teams. Riley Spellman scored 1:56 into the second half to cut the deficit to two. Then, after some back-and-forth action, Brian Madden scored off an assist from Zachary Mein. WNE would be called for a penalty with 9:02 left in the quarter. The Hawks could not capitalize, and the game went back to back-and-forth action. WNE would call a timeout with 2:42 left in the quarter, and with 1:22 remaining, Jack Houlden scored off a pass from James Wrynn. The Hawks answered before the quarter finished when Matt Hemmert scored off a pass from Eric Brooks. The score was 11-8 going into the final quarter of the game. The third quarter stats showed both teams take eight shots each, and the Golden Bears led 3-2 in faceoffs won, 3-2 in saves, and 8-7 in ground balls.

The final quarter scoring started with Jacob Roy scoring an unassisted goal 3:40 into the quarter. 1:04 later, Riley Spellman answered to make the score 12-9. Some back-and-forth action ensued. Matt Hemmert notched a goal with 8:38 left in the game to cut the WNE lead to two. Brian Gazard had the assist. Right after that goal, the momentum shifted with a faceoff win from Chris Catuosco, who ran down the field and scored. The Golden Bears regained a three-goal lead in ten seconds. Fifty-five seconds later, the lead was four. Max Rudgers scored off a pass from Dylan Hanley. Dylan Hanley then scored with 6:05 remaining to push the lead to five. Brian Gazard scored to make it 15-11 with 2:48 remaining, and there was a penalty called on the Golden Bears. The Hawks could not capitalize before being called for a penalty themselves. WNE would not capitalize on the man-up opportunity but did score with 1:46 left to make the score 16-11. The Hawks were called for a penalty after the goal. The Golden Bears ran out the clock and won the game 16-11 to advance to the CCC Championship game. The final stats showed the Golden Bears lead 47-29 in shots, 19-12 in faceoffs won, and 42-23 in ground balls. The Hawks led 12-8 in saves.

Inside The Crease:

• The Golden Bears hosted the Roger Williams University Hawks in the CCC tournament semifinals.
• Dylan Hanley led the Golden Bears with six points (three goals and three assists).
• Jacob Roy led the Golden Bears in goals with four.
• Chris Catuosco won 18 of 28 faceoffs and collected 14 ground balls.
• Jack Gara caused five turnovers.
• Brian Gazard tallied six points (three goals and three assists) to lead the Hawks.
• Tyler Zanini caused three turnovers.
• Aaron D'Aversa made twelve saves.
• Carter Randall made eight saves to secure the win.
• The Golden Bears won the game 16-11.

Up Next:

• The Golden Bears will travel to Beverly, Massachusetts, to take on Endicott College in the CCC Championship game on Saturday, May 4, 2024, with the time to be determined.
• The Hawks' season will end with the defeat. They finish the season with a 13-6 record, going 5-2 in conference.