KEENE, N.H. (January 18, 2025) – The Golden Bears took on the Owls of Keene State College for the first time in program history. The Owls would open the contest with the first goal. WNE would answer with an Everest Schneider power play goal before Keene State got the lead back just before the end of the second intermission. That would be enough for Keene State to squeak out the win and take down the Golden Bears 2-1.

Records:

Western New England: 4-10-1 (1-7-1)

Keene State College: 7-8-1 (0-0-0)

How it Happened:

The Owls opened the contest with ferocity. They had the first twelve shots of the game, with nine coming before a Golden Bear penalty. That gave the Owls the contest's first power play chance of the game. They had three shots on their power play, with one shot saved by Anthony Aureliano, the Golden Bear goalie. The Owls were then called for a penalty, forcing the teams to skate 4-on-4. Once the Golden Bears entered the power play, both teams would have a shot before the power play ended. The Owls stacked more shots on top of each other, with four of the next five shots. Eventually, WNE would find their footing and had four of the next five shots. They made the Owls' goalie, Ben Skelton, make three saves for the Owls. The teams would trade stretches of shots. Both teams were flying around the ice, creating opportunities until the Owls would score the game's opening goal with 2:28 remaining in the first period of play. Payton Jones would find Chase Carney, who flew down the left side of the ice, fended off a WNE defender, skated past the WNE goalie, and scored. The Owls led 1-0. The Golden Bears answered with two shots before they were called for a penalty. Keene State had four shots on their power play before being called for a penalty and causing the teams to skate 4-on-4 for the final fifteen seconds of the first. The score after the first was 1-0. The first saw Keene State leading in shots 31-14, shots on goal 22-10, and faceoff wins 18-8. WNE led in saves 21-10 and blocked shots 3-2.

The second started with WNE going on the power play twenty-eight seconds in. The Owls had a shot before WNE had two on the power play. The Owls then controlled the puck, had nine of the next ten shots, and truly tested Aureliano in net. They followed that with three more shots in a row before WNE had two shots, with the second testing Skelton in net. The teams went back and forth before the Owls were called for a five-minute major, and WNE went on the power play. WNE had seven shots on the power play before Justin Sullivan passed the puck to Jake Mendeszoon, who found Everest Schneider on the left-hand side of the goal. Schneider sent a wrist shot past the Owls' goalie to tie the game 1-1 with 8:16 remaining in the second. The penalty continued, and the Golden Bears had eight more power play shots. Then, Keene State got the momentum back. WNE had three of the next four shots after the power play. Then, the Owls had three shots in a row. Then, they earned a power play and had five shots on the power play, including their second goal of the contest. Peter Unger scored on the power play off a one-timer sent to Unger by Marcus Chrisafideis after getting the puck from Kyle Gonzalez. The Owls had the lead with 46 seconds remaining in the second. That was the final action of the second, and WNE trailed 2-1 after two periods of play. The second saw WNE lead in shots 26-25, but the Owls led in shots on goal 13-12. WNE led in saves 12-11, but Keene State led in faceoff wins 15-4 and blocked shots 9-5.

The third started with the teams trading shot chances. WNE would take three shots in a row, and that was immediately answered by three Keene State shots and vice versa. Then, with 12:48 left in the third, WNE went on the power play. They had five shots during the power play, with four of them on goal. The Owls killed off the power play, but eighteen seconds later were called for another power play, and WNE had another chance to score the equalizing goal. With fifteen seconds left in the power play, both teams were given penalties, and the teams would skate 4-4 after Brayden Patricia had a shot saved by Skelton, and the 15 seconds clicked off the scoreboard. Shortly after, the Golden Bears committed a penalty, and the Owls had a 4-3 power play chance. The Owls had six shots but no goals on their power plays. After six Keene State shots and a WNE shot, Keene State was back on the power play with 4:14 left in the contest. Each team had a shot before the Owls had two in a row, with Aureliano making a massive save in front of the WNE goal. Each team had a shot after that, and the power play ended. Aureliano was pulled with 1:36 remaining, and WNE had three shots, but none of them made it into the goal, and Keene State got the 2-1 win. The final stats showed Keene State ahead in shots 82-62, shots on goal 47-34, blocked shots 16-12, and faceoff wins 47-36. WNE had more saves, 45-33.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears traveled to Keene, N.H., to take on Keene State College in a nonconference clash.
• 1st 17:32 – Chase Carney netted the first goal of the game, assisted by Payton Jones. The Owls led 1-0.
• 2nd 11:44 – Everest Schneider tied the contest with a goal assisted by Jake Mendeszoon and Justin Sullivan. The game was tied 1-1.
• 2nd 19:14 – Peter Unger regifted the Owls the lead with a goal assisted by Marcus Chrisafideis and Kyle Gonzalez. The Owls led 2-1.
• Anthony Aureliano made 45 saves.
• Ben Skelton made 33 saves.
• Keene State beat WNE 2-1.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will host Assumption University on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 7:30 PM inside the Olympia Ice Center.
• Keene State will face Fitchburg State University on Monday, January 20, 2025, at 2:15 PM at Keene ICE.