MILTON, Mass. (February 1, 2025) – The Western New England women's ice hockey team fell in a crucial Conference of New England contest on Saturday afternoon at the Canton Ice House, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Colonels of Curry College, less than 24 hours following a thrilling 3-2 victory on home ice. WNE falls to 0-2 on the road against Curry this season.

Records:
·      Western New England: 11-8-1, 5-7-1 CNE
·      Curry College: 6-2-1, 5-8 CNE
How it Happened:

Rachael Irving made the starts for Western New England for the second straight night, the first time of the season for this instance, while Curry switched to Sarah Kerr between the pipes, who defeated WNE in their last meeting in mid-January at the Canton Ice House. The first two shots of the first period went Western New England's way, who came out firing early, as Brie Dube and Valerie DuVal took shots, both off the target. Curry came back with two quick shots that found the target, though Irving was up to the task. WNE found their offense in the first period, something they were missing in the first period of Friday night's tilt, as WNE put up just five shots on goal on Friday night, though they tested Kerr nine times in the opening period. All of Western New England's nine shots on goal came in the first 11 minutes of the first period. WNE did not register a shot on goal in the final nine minutes of the first while Curry had six shots in the final six minutes of the period, all saved by Irving. Curry's final bid of the first came on a penalty shot as the Golden Bears were whistled for closing the hand on the puck inside the crease. Danielle Reid would take the shot for the Colonels and would find the back of the net on a backhand, giving Curry a 1-0 lead. The Colonels were not done in the period, scoring a goal with 1:40 remaining in the frame as Margot Oxman's drive to the net and tip shot would get past Irving, giving the Colonels a 2-0 lead, which they held for the remainder of the period. Curry had the shots advantage in the first period, 11-9.

In the second period, Western New England would be all over the shots on goal, taking a season-high 27 shots in one period. Alyssa Murphy and Jenna Lynch both had early shots while Sarah Kerr stood on her head for the Colonels to deny the chances for the Golden Bears early. WNE's best chance came just five minutes into the second period when Hannah Baxter took two shots on goal while Mabel Gerard was on the doorstep, both denied chances by Kerr. The Golden Beats had two power play chances in the second period, taking 13 total shots on the two chances, but none of the shots would find the back of the net as Curry held their lead at 2-0. WNE had the shots advantage 27-10 in the second period, though the Golden Bears would not score. Irving made all ten saves in the second period despite Curry having a 2-0 lead into the final frame of the game.

The Golden Bears would be on the power play seven minutes into the third period, in search of their first goal of the game after Curry started the third period with much of the momentum to start the frame. WNE would take just four shots on the power play, one going on target but did not score. WNE would find the back of the net on their next power play chance as Alyssa Murphy took a shot from just outside the dot and came away with WNE's first goal of the game to cut the Curry lead in half. Michaela Birmingham and Alexa Paoli registered assists on the goal for Murphy with 8:26 remaining in the third period. Western New England would push, looking for the tying goal of the game, though Curry would take over the offense for much of the remaining eight minutes in the period. WNE would pull their goalkeeper with 1:47 remaining in the third period, looking to score and tie the game with the extra attacker but would not be able to do so as Curry's Margot Oxman would have an empty net goal for her fourth of the season, which would be the final shot on goal and final goal of the game as the Colonels would take down Western New England by a final score of 3-1.

Inside the Lines:
·      Western New England took 40 shots on goal in the game but had just four in the final frame of the game to come away with the 3-1 defeat.
·      Alyssa Murphy tallied the lone goal for WNE in the game, her fifth on the year and first since January 10.
·      Rachael Irving loses between the pipes for just the second time this season, making 26 saves on the night.
·      Sarah Kerr was Curry's hero on the night, making 39 saves on the afternoon, including 27 in the second period.
·      Michaela Birmingham and Alexa Paoli had assists for the Golden Bears in the loss.
·      WNE won 31/59 faceoffs, led by Valerie DuVal and Mabel Gerard, who had 11 each.
Up Next on the Schedule:
·      WNE returns home on Friday, January 7, at 8:00 PM to take on Johnson & Wales University, whom the Golden Bears are 0-1-1 against this season.