WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 1, 2025) – The Western New England women's ice hockey team came up with a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory on Saturday evening in their home opener at the Olympia Ice Center, defeating the Raiders of Rivier University. 

Records:

• Western New England: 2-0
• Rivier University: 0-2

How it Happened:

First Period: 

• The Raiders opened the scoring in the game just 12 seconds in as Jessica Driscoll found the back of the net for Rivier's first goal of the season on assists from Mariana Bassett and Rebecca McKelvey, giving the Raiders a quick 1-0 lead. The Golden Bears did not let that early goal deter them, coming up with a quick response to even the score at one. After the Golden Bears dumped the puck in deep, a lively bounce to the middle of the crease saw Kaylin O'Connor fire home her first goal of the season, tying the score at one. Maddie Pope and Valerie DuVal earned assists on the play for Western New England. 
• The Golden Bears held much of the offense in the period following the goals, but were not able to score again in the frame. In total, Western New England attempted 32 shots, putting 14 on goal, opening the game with plenty of offense. Rachael Irving, who made her second straight start, made six saves on seven shots faced in the opening period.

Second Period: 

• Plenty of offense came for Western New England again in the second period, including picking up a power play in the early stages of the period putting three shots on goal, but did not score. Rivier challenged the WNE defense with three straight shots on goal following the end of the penalty kill, but was held off the scoreboard. 
• Western New England scratched for the tiebreaker, and found it on their second power play chance of the period as Ava Camelio found the back of the net for the first time this season, her first career collegiate goal, giving the blue and gold a 2-1 lead. WNE cycled the puck that landed on Camelio's stick, as the first-year took a shot from the blue line that got past Rivier's Emily Krauss, giving the Golden Bears a 2-1 lead. 
• WNE attempted 33 more shots in the second period, putting 20 on goal, as the Rivier goalkeeper made 19 saves. Irving totaled six saves on six shots on goal faced. 

Third Period: 

• Rivier did not have a shot on goal in the third period until the midway point of the frame, as Western New England tilted the ice in its favor, taking 23 shots in the first nine minutes of the period, but did not score. Rivier's first shot of the period was a goal as Casey Roth took the puck up the ice on an odd-player rush and found the back of the net on an assist from Kayley Young, tying the game at two with 10:12 left in the frame. 
• Western New England went back on the attack again and capitalized on another power play, this time with 5:08 remaining in the game as Jenna Lynch found twine for the first time this season. Lynch went on a solo rush around the tops of the circles and let a release go that beat the Rivier goalie over the shoulder, giving the Golden Bears a 3-2 lead. Lilly Ainey and Michaela Birmingham earned assists on the goal. 
• Looking to close out the game with a win, the Golden Bears had to play a heavy amount of defense as Rivier found some offense in the final three minutes of the game. The Golden Bears nearly ended the game with an empty net chance but instead saw Rivier get a jam play at the side of the net as Keegan McGaheran stuffed the puck into the net to even the score at three with just 17 seconds left in the third period, sending the game to overtime. 

Overtime:

• The Golden Bears took control of the offense in the overtime frame, forcing Rivier's Emily Krauss to make seven saves in the early goings. The Raiders' best chance came on a 2-on-1 chance as Jessica Driscoll brought the puck up the ice and took a shot that went just wide of the post which sent the Golden Bears into transition, with Jenna Lynch quickly moving the puck to a streaking Michaela Birmingham, who crossed the blue line and ripped a shot up and over the glove of Krauss and into the back of the net, giving Western New England a 4-3 victory, Birmingham's first goal of the season. 

Inside the Lines:

• Four different goal scorers helped WNE complete the weekend sweep to open the season, as Kaylin O'Connor, Ava Camelio, Jenna Lynch, and Michaela Birmingham all scored their first goals of the season for Western New England. 
• The Golden Bears totaled 66 shots on goal in the victory, with Lynch taking a team-high 12. 
• Emily Krauss made 62 saves for the Raiders, including 23 in the third period. 
• Western New England improves to 3-0 all-time against Rivier, scoring four goals in all three games. 
• WNE has seven goals this season, all from different players. 

Coach's Corner:

Head coach Katie Zimmerman was interviewed after the game. Zimmerman was asked for a quick comment on the game. "Major credit to Rivier and the coaching staff, that was a super fun game. (It was) tight and much of a nail-biter, and ultimately, we have to find a way to score goals and get a few more bounces to go our way. We're learning; it's early in the year, and there's a lot to build off of and grow from. It was nice to pull one out in the end. A fun hockey game tonight," Zimmerman stated. Then, when asked about what Zimmerman liked from the team's play and what could be improved on, Zimmerman stated, "I think keeping it simple is something we're learning as a young group right now is a really effective way to play the game. It allows us to advance pucks, get up ice with numbers, and freshness. It allows for safe changes to keep tempo. Typically, that is the name of the game, too, in scoring goals. Just keeping it simple, getting pucks through, and making sure that we have numbers. The discipline side of the game, we are learning and did get better as the game went." Zimmerman was finally asked what was going through her mind during the Birmingham goal to win the game as she saw that play develop. "She's got awesome speed. It was nice to see her shoot low. It was a sweet spot shot, which is really tough for goalies, right over the pad and under the glove. Her wheels is what separates her on the ice, and awesome to see that one go in the back of the net."

Jenna Lynch met with the media after the game. Lynch was asked to comment on the game. "I think we started off a little slow. We came in between the first and second, and we realized that we came out a little sloppy, a little slow. We had to simplify things. We figured it out in the second, and ramped it up in the third. Doing the simple things," Lynch noted. When asked to take us through her goal, Lynch said, "Actually, right before that, coach Zim said that walking up the wall and doing a high roll with our defensemen would pull the killers outward, so I rolled and we had a great net-front screen and I just shot around and the top-right was open. That was great! Then, the overtime goal was great with Ham. I knew she had a lot of speed, so I just kind of handed her the puck, and she just took it."

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE heads to the University of New England for its first Conference of New England game this coming Friday, November 7, at 7:00 PM and returns home the following evening to host UNE on Saturday, November 8, at 5:00 PM.