WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 14, 2025) – The Golden Bears welcome the number nine-ranked team in the nation to the Olympia Ice Center on Friday. It did not start the way the Golden Bears wanted, as Endicott College scored two goals in the first Period. Maddie Pope cut into that lead in the second with an early goal, and Kaylin O'Connor, Lilly Ainley, Mabel Gerard, and Michaela Birmingham would all net goals to keep the Golden Bears undefeated with a 5-2 win.

Records:

Western New England: 5-0-0 (3-0-0)

No. 9 Endicott College: 2-1-0 (0-1-0)

How it Happened:

First Period:

• The contest began with WNE's Rachael Irving and Endicott's Casey Moritz facing off in goal.
• The Golden Bears had the first two chances before Mackenzie Graham found the back of the net. Ava Schmidt and Lily Anderson had the assists. WNE trailed 1-0.
• WNE kept sending shots on goal, but Mortiz kept making saves. WNE kept finding opportunities, but it was Endicott who struck again.
• 13:41 into the game, Teaghan Hall got the rebound from a Jo Wimler shot and scored. Joe Brown had the second assist, and WNE trailed 2-0.
• The teams traded shots for the rest of the opening Period. WNE was called for a penalty with 1:06 remaining, and the Gulls would have eight shots, with one being saved by Irving.
• The first-period stats were as follows: WNE led in shots on goal, 11-7. Endicott led in shots 20-19, saves 11-5, and faceoff wins 9-7.

Second Period:

• The second Period of play saw Endicott get two early powerplay shots before Mischa Palmitesso found Kaylin O'Connor, who sent the puck to Maddie Pope. Pope fired a shot from near the red line over the goalie's left shoulder and into the goal. WNE cut the lead to 2-1 with 18:18 remaining in the second.
• WNE had all the momentum and showed it by picking up eleven consecutive shots.
• Endicott responded with ten shots before WNE went on their first power play, resulting in three shots.
• Just over a minute later, WNE had another power play and had five shots during that Endicott penalty.
• Endicott finished the second with nine of the final twelve shots to end the Period with the momentum, up 2-1.
• The second period stats were as follows: WNE had more shots, 23-22, saves, 9-8, and faceoff wins, 7-5. Both teams had nine shots on goal during the second Period of play.

Third Period:

• Endicott was called for their third penalty 33 seconds into the final Period of play. WNE had five shots during this power play, with the fifth shot coming from Kaylin O'Connor, who swept the puck into the net after a shot from Jenna Lynch was saved by Moritz. WNE tied the game at 2-2 2:22 into the final Period.
• The Golden Bears capitalized on their momentum and continued to send pucks at the goal. Moritz was able to deal with the pressure for a while. However, with 7:53 left in the game, Lilly Ainley had the game-winning goal on the power play. Mikayla Mrzywka and Mabel Girard had the assists. WNE led 3-2.
• WNE was then called for a penalty almost two minutes later, and then both teams were called for penalties, with play staying at 5-on-4. However, no goals were scored.
• Then, a penalty was called on Endicott, and WNE pulled their goalie to get the extra skater. Mabel Girard accepted a pass from Mischa Palmitesso, who originally got the pass from Kaylin O'Connor. Girard skated in and scored. WNE led 4-2 with 3:16 left.
• WNE would grab one more goal while on another powerplay chance. With 37 seconds left, Michaela Birmingham would skate coast-to-coast after receiving the puck from goalie Rachael Irving. Birmingham would skate to the left side of the goal, on the red line, and lift the puck over the goalie's shoulder and into the far corner of the goal. WNE led 5-2.
• 5-2 would be the final score, as WNE took down the number nine-ranked team in the country on home ice.

Inside the Crease:

• WNE defeated number 9, Endicott College, 5-2.
• 1st Period – 4:44: Mackenzie Graham scored the first goal of the contest off assists from Lily Anderson and Ava Schmidt. Endicott led 1-0.
• 1st Period – 13:41: Teaghan Hall scored the second goal for the Gulls. Jo Wimler and Joey Brown assisted with that goal. Endicott led 2-0.
• 2nd Period – 1:42: Maddie Pope cut the deficit in half with a goal assisted by Kaylin O'Connor and Mischa Palmitesso. WNE trailed 2-1.
• 3rd Period – 2:22: Kaylin O'Connor scored the game-tying goal off an assist from Jenna Lynch. The score was tied 2-2.
• 3rd Period – 12:07: Lilly Ainley scored the game-winning goal off assists from Mikayla Mrzywka and Mabel Girard. WNE led 3-2.
• 3rd Period – 16:44: Mabel Girard scored after assists from Mischa Palmitesso and Kaylin O'Connor. WNE had a 4-2 lead.
• 3rd Period – 19:22.2: Michaela Birmingham scored in the final minute off an assist from Rachael Irving. WNE led 5-2.
• Final stats: WNE led in shots on goal 35-24, faceoff wins 26-22, and blocked shots 18-12. Endicott had more saves, 30-22.

Coach's Corner:
Head coach Katie Zimmerman was interviewed after the win. When asked what the message to the team was after letting up two goals in the first two shots from Endicott to provide a spark for the comeback, Zimmerman stated, "Funny enough, some of our strongest parts of our game were the first ten minutes or so. We had a great flow to our game to start. Good tempo, and we were outshooting them something like 10-2 at one point in the first. It just so happened, because hockey happened, that they put both of their first two in. One was a little fluky, but I really liked our game throughout, and there was no letdown on the bench, so the message was all positive and to keep it going. We didn't have to make any adjustments. I really liked our tempo and the way we played. Throughout the game, it was all about confidence because that is a fast and skilled team; all the credit to them. We know we are a great hockey team, and the togetherness factor really played a role tonight. Everyone on the bench, everyone on the roster had a great impact in terms of our togetherness. The idea was keep knocking on the door, and the door is going to open, and we know we are a goal-scoring capable team, so it took a few (shots), but once we got it going, we didn't really put a pause to it." Then, Zimmerman was asked what it would take to defeat the number-nine-ranked team again tomorrow. "We have to bring more of the same, knowing that they are going to have a fire under them, too. I think the biggest thing we just learned is what we look like when we are confident and we're not second-guessing ourselves or hesitating. We just have to come into it with that same type of energy, on our toes, keeping it simple, and trusting in the process of it all."
Goalie Rachael Irving was also interviewed and after being asked about what it took to flip the switch and shut out the opposition after two wacky, early goals, Irving stated, "It's definitely tough letting up goals early in a game but I trust my team and I know that I just have to keep doing my job, taking one shot at a time, and keep going through the game, trusting my team that we'll get those goals back. We ended up capitalizing on key opportunities and having faith in our team and just doing what I can to keep going and let it go, it's a new game." Then, when asked about the big win on her birthday and what that meant to her, Irving said, "It was awesome! I think the energy the whole day was just great. It was awesome having all my family here and a lot of our friends out to support us. That was a huge win, and it's gonna be tough again tomorrow, but we are ready to go, and it's really great to see what we can do as a team."

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The two teams will travel to Beverly, Massachusetts, for their second game of the week on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at 4:00 PM, as they face off inside the Raymond J. Borque Arena.