BOSTON, Mass. (December 6, 2025) – WNE followed up the previous day's loss with a trip to Boston to take on the Leopards in their final contest of 2025. After letting the Leopards score the first goal of the day, the Golden Bears would see two goals from Michael Bottrell and one from Stepan Kuznetsov as the Golden Bears would win the game with 5:06 left in the contest to secure their first conference victory of the season, 4-3.

Records:

Western New England: 2-7-0 (1-5-0)

Wentworth Institute of Technology: 3-7-1 (2-5-0)

How it Happened:

First Period:

• Luca Scaglione got his first start of the season in goal for WNE, with Jack McGovern opposing him in the Wentworth net.
• Wentworth had the early momentum, having seven of the first eight shots. The Golden Bears tried to respond, but the momentum fueled the Leopards to a George Kolovos goal, assisted by Seth Robinson and Ian Worthley, 7:20 into the game.
• WNE had the next two shots to try to gain a goal back, but WIT had thirteen of the next fourteen shots to keep the Golden Bears at bay.
• The end of the first period saw WNE come to life with three shots in a row, then a power-play chance, which brought them two more shots and carried the momentum into the middle period.

Second Period:

• The Golden Bear power play extended into the second period, where WNE sent two more shots at goal. McGovern had to save one of the shots.
• WNE went back on the power play 3:37 into the second. They had two shots before they were called for a penalty, as well.
• The Golden Bears earned a third power play of the second period in the eighth minute. Unfortunately, that chance was no different from the first two. They had six shots, but no goals.
• The teams would send the puck down the ice between the end lines, but neither could find the second goal. Both teams had another power play chance, but neither could score.
• WNE discussed their strategy during a timeout in the 18th minute. It seemed to work as thirty-nine seconds later, Stepan Kuznetsov found Beau Helmeczi. Helmeczi sent the puck to Michael Bottrell, who slotted it home, and WNE tied the game 1-1 with 2:11 left in the second.
• Neither team would do much to end the period, but WIT would earn a power play to start the third period.
• At the end of two periods of play, WIT had more shots, 26-15, and blocked shots, 9-6. WNE had more faceoff wins, 27-26, and saves, 25-14.

Third Period:

• The third was madness, as both teams would take the lead and give it up before one scored with just over a minute left in the contest, squeaking out the victory.
• WIT would lose out on their power play chance, seventeen seconds into the third. The teams would trade shots while playing 4-on-4.
• Wentworth took the lead 2:44 into the final period of play. Mighton Johnson scored the unassisted goal, and WIT led 2-1.
• Fifty seconds later, Matty Zdanowicz was found by Everest Schneider and scored to knot the game up at 2-2.
• Just under three minutes later, Stepan Kuznetsov would score the go-ahead goal for WNE off assists from Mario Scalise and Philippe Longchamps. WNE took their first lead of the day, 3-2.
• WNE entered a power-play chance a few minutes later, but could not score, and Wentworth would use that power-play kill to their advantage, adding momentum and scoring with 8:29 left in the contest. Nikolas Sombrowski scored and was assisted by Ian Wothley. It was 3-3.
• The Golden Bears never wavered. They turned around and won the game with 5:06 left in the contest. Stepan Kuznetsov found Michael Bottrell, who netted the game-winning goal. Philippe Longchamps assisted the goal too.
• WNE faced six more shots and kept all of them from crashing into the net to secure their second victory of the season and first conference victory.
• The final stats saw WIT send more shots on goal than WNE, 34-25, and win more faceoffs, 42-36. WNE had more blocked shots, 14-10, and saves, 31-21.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears won their first conference game of the 2025-26 season versus WIT 4-3.
• Michael Bottrell scored two goals on the day, including the game-winner with 5:06 left in the contest.
• Stepan Kuznetsov had three points with one goal and two assists for WNE.
• Philippe Longchamps also had a pair of assists as he assisted the third and fourth goals of the day.
• Luca Scaglione picks up his first win of the season with 31 saves and a .912 save percentage.

Coach's Corner:
Head Coach Matt Smith was interviewed after the win and asked what the messaging was coming into this game after a tough loss the day before. ""Focus forward and be better." And we were. Last night's disappointing effort helped to sharpen our focus and bring more urgency to the game," Smith stated. When asked what about today's resilient effort was enjoyable to see, Smith mentioned, "We stayed locked in on the objective at hand, and that was to get conference points. The bench energy was there throughout. We needed the win and earned it."
Michael Bottrell, who scored a pair of goals was also interviewed. He was first asked how it feels to get the road win after a tough start to the road trip the day before. "It feels really good. We knew this stretch was going to be tough but the group stayed focused and showed a lot of resilience. Traveling and playing back to back isn't easy so to come into their rink and come out with a win says a lot about our compete level. It's a big confidence boost for us," Bottrell stated. Then, when asked what worked for him on the ice today, Bottrell answered, "I felt really in sync with my linemates today. We were moving the puck quickly, creating space, and winning battles down low. Both goals came from staying patient and getting into the right spots. My teammates made great plays to set me up and I just tried to capitalize when I had the chances."

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The men's ice hockey team will go on break before returning on Friday, January 2, 2025, as they take on Worcester State University in the first game of the 58th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament in Boston, Massachusetts.