BOSTON, Mass. (February 15, 2025) – The Western New England men's ice hockey team met Suffolk University for the third time in a week on Saturday evening and would drop a close 2-1 contest to the Rams. Gavin Mastrodonato scored his first career goal in blue and gold while Suffolk earned their third win of the season over WNE. 

Records:

• Western New England: 5-17-2, 1-14-2 CNE
• Suffolk University: 12-11-2, 7-9-1 CNE

How it Happened:

After a tough defeat in yesterday's CNE contest, Western New England would look to bounce back in conference play, turning again to Logan Palmer between the pipes. Jordie Morgan had the first shot on goal for the Golden Bears in the game, coming just 55 seconds into the contest but could not find the back of the net. Suffolk would quickly find their offensive game, getting two quick shots on Palmer, who made two good saves. Suffolk's best early chances came from Micheal McEachern, who was stuffed by Palmer twice in quick succession. Suffolk would begin to build their shot total on the Golden Bears, but Western New England would respond with a handful of good chances to come away with the opening tally of the game. Matt Hamacher would grab a shot on goal with 11 minutes remaining in the period while Brayden Patricia and Jimmy Mettler would soon follow but all would be taken in and saved by Suffolk's CJ Hapward. Western New England would be whistled for a penalty which would give Suffolk the chance at a power play opportunity, but the Golden Bears would hold their own while Palmer would make four saves on Suffolk to keep the home team from scoring. With under a minute to play in the opening period the Rams would strike on their second power play chance of the night when Daniel McKiernan scored his fifth tally of the season, breaking the ice and giving Suffolk a 1-0 lead. The lead would hold heading into the second period. 30 shots were taken by the two teams in the opening frame, 16 by Suffolk and 14 for WNE. Logan Palmer made 15 of 16 saves while CJ Hapward gobbled all 14. 

The Rams would take control of the second period offensively while their defense would allow very few shots to the Golden Bears, who widely played defense for the second period. Palmer would make seven saves in the period before Suffolk would find goal for the second time in the game, this time coming from Joe O'Brien on an even-strength marker, giving the Rams a 2-0 lead. WNE would come away with a power play just five seconds after the Suffolk goal and would put one shot wide of the cage before their chance would end, as a penalty on the Golden Bears would get rid of the power play chance for the blue and gold. Western New England would kill off the Suffolk power play chance, but the Rams would continue to come in hard and heavy on the Golden Bears on offense down to the final minutes of the second period. WNE would not allow Suffolk to score again while Palmer made 18 saves in the second period, totaling 33 for the first two periods of the game. Western New England mustered three shots on goal in the second period overall. 

Western New England would be rewarded after their strong defensive prowess in the second period with an early goal in the third period to cut Suffolk's lead in half with still over 16 minutes remaining in the frame. Gavin Mastrodonato would have his first as a Golden Bear on assists from Jimmy Mettler and Camille Marcoux, putting WNE on the scoreboard, now trailing 2-1. Western New England would follow up their goal with a handful of shots, with Matty Zdanowicz, Matt Hamacher, and Daniel Demchuk all getting opportunities at the net. WNE would pick up a power play chance, looking to even the game, with 4:57 to play in the third period after Suffolk's Jack Kircher was whistled for a tripping minor. Jordie Morgan would take a shot on goal, followed up by a Zdanowicz chance but neither chance would find goal. WNE would pull their goalkeeper with 1:14 to play in the game, looking for the tying tally getting three shots, two from Justin Sullivan but the Rams would hold off Western New England at the final buzzer. Suffolk would come away with a 2-1 win, defeating WNE in all three meetings this season. 

Inside the Lines:

• Gavin Mastrodonato's third period goal would be the only goal for WNE on the night. Mastrodonato picked up his first career goal with Western New England the losing effort
• Logan Palmer made 41 total saves in the third period, just shy of his career high. 
• Both Jimmy Mettler and Camille Marcoux earned assists for WNE in the game. Mettler also took two shots. 
• Suffolk defeats WNE for the third straight time this season, outscoring the blue and gold 16-7 overall. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE plays their final game of the season on Friday, February 21 at 5:00 PM, taking on the Gulls of Endicott College.