KING'S POINT, N.Y. (March 22, 2025) – The Golden Bears concluded their three-game road trip in King's Point, New York on Saturday. The Golden Bears would find a second win of their three-game road trip. Griffin LaRochelle would lead the Golden Bears with two goals in the first quarter, and WNE led 4-2 after the first. LaRochelle would score a third to make it a hat trick in the first half. The Golden Bears would follow that lead, and both Jacob Roy and Jack Houlden would earn hat tricks during the second half to lead the Golden Bears to a 12-9 victory.

Records:

• Western New England: 3-5
• United States Merchant Marine Academy: 3-3

How it Happened:

With Julian Garcia and Jonathan Salsbury meeting at midfield as the starting goalies, the contest was underway. The Golden Bears started quickly thanks to a Chris Catuosco faceoff win and a Griffin LaRochelle unassisted goal. WNE led 1-0. Each team had a turnover after that, with Jack Gara causing the USMMA turnover and Jack Houlden picking up the ground ball and scoring. WNE led 2-0. Chris Neuman won the next faceoff for USMMA. However, the teams would trade faceoffs for a little while. Both goalies made saves, with both teams having shot after shot. That was until Owen Behr scored the first USMMA goal. WNE led 2-1 with 6:01 left in the first quarter. The teams traded a turnover each before Griffin LaRochelle scored a second goal, and WNE extended their lead back to two, and WNE led 3-1. USMMA would take advantage of a WNE turnover and would score. Owen Behr got a pass from Jack Collins and scored. WNE led 3-2 with 3:31 left in the first. Catuosco won the ensuing faceoff, and after a WNE shot went over the net, Kevin Morina found Nicholas Campagnone with a pass, and Campagnone scored. WNE led 4-2. The Golden Bears had all five shots to conclude the first quarter but could not reach their fifth goal, and the first ended with the Golden Bears leading 4-2. The Golden Bears led the first quarter in shots 13-6, shots on goal 5-3, faceoff wins 6-1, and ground balls 14-5. Both teams had one save.

The second quarter started with Rocco DeSimone winning the opening faceoff. However, it would be a little while before the second quarter saw its first goal. 2:19 into the second, USMMA's Owen Barcus would net the first goal of the second and cut the deficit to one. USMMA won the next faceoff but could not capitalize and tie the game. The ball was traded from team to team. Both teams had many chances with shot after shot from the teams. Nicholas Campagnone would hit the post for the Golden Bears. WNE was called for a penalty, but USMMA could not capitalize on the man-up chance. Then, USMMA was called for a penalty, and Max Rudgers would capitalize for the Golden Bears with a goal assisted by Zachary Mein. WNE led 5-3 with 6:09 left in the first half. Shortly after, USMMA earned a man-up opportunity and scored. Jack Collins found William Badeer with a pass, and Badeer scored. WNE led 5-4 with 5:01 remaining in the second. WNE answered with 3:28 left in the half. Griffin LaRochelle earned the hat trick goal to give the Golden Bears a 6-4 lead. That is the score that would be seen at the halftime break, as neither team could score in the final three and a half minutes of the second quarter. USMMA led in shots 13-8 and shots on goal 5-2 during the second quarter. WNE had more saves, 3-0. USMMA had more faceoff wins, 3-2, and 14-10 in ground balls.

Chris Catuosco started the third quarter with a faceoff win for the Golden Bears. WNE then was called for a penalty, and Owen Behr would score on the man-up chance for USMMA. Brendan Ring was credited with the assist and USMMA trailed 6-5. WNE won the following faceoff, and Zachary Mein had a shot chance, but the shot glanced off the post. The teams traded the balls back and forth before USMMA would tie the game at 6-6, thanks to a Michael Emerick goal. The teams would continue to trade the ball. Then, with 4:26 left in the third quarter, WNE would take over. Jacob Roy found Jack Houlden for a goal. WNE led 7-6. Rocco DeSimone would win the next faceoff, and 37 seconds later, Jacob Roy scored an unassisted goal. WNE led 8-6. Then, both teams would end up getting penalties. However, the Golden Bears were able to capitalize and would score on the man-up opportunity. Jacob Roy scored with 1:56 left in the third, and WNE led 9-6. Neither team would get another goal even though USMMA would have a shot, but it went over the goal. WNE took a 9-6 lead into the final quarter of play. The teams were even in shots 6-6 and shots on goal 3-3. WNE had more saves, 1-0. WNE also had more faceoff wins, 4-1, and ground balls, 7-3.

Neuman would win the opening faceoff of the fourth and final quarter. Garcia and Salsbury both made saves after the faceoff, and the teams would trade possession for a little while before USMMA started their run. Owen Barcus scored, and WNE's lead was 9-7. USMMA won the ensuing faceoff, and then WNE was called for a penalty, and USMMA scored on the man-up chance. Jack Collins scored off an assist from Owen Behr. WNE's lead was now only one, 9-8. The teams traded possession before Josh Gagnon scored and doubled the WNE lead to 10-8 with 7:23 remaining in the contest. Jack Collins responded with 3:51 left in the game after an assist from Owen Behr, and WNE only led 10-9. However, the Golden Bears would close out the game with a Jacob Roy goal, assisted by Dylan Nardon, with 2:04 left in the contest. That was Roy's third goal and earned Roy the hat trick. Then, with 1:02 left in the fourth, Roy assisted Jack Houlden with Houlden's third goal to complete a third Golden Bear hat trick. WNE led 12-9, and that would be the final score. The final stat line saw the teams tied in shots 36-36 and shots on goal 16-16. The Golden Bears had more ground balls 41-30, more saves 7-4, and more faceoff wins 14-10.

Inside the Lines:

• Three Golden Bears netted hat tricks. Jack Houlden, Griffin LaRochelle, and Jacob Roy netted the hat tricks, with LaRochelle having a first-half hat trick and Roy having a second-half hat trick.
• Jacob Roy led the team with five points (leading the team with 3 goals and 2 assists).
• Roy also led the Golden Bears in shots with seven.
• Jack Houlden, Chris Catuosco, and Jack Gara led the Golden Bears with five ground balls each.
• Jonathan Salsbury led the Golden Bears to the win with seven saves.
• Owen Behr netted a hat trick to lead USMMA with three goals and also led the team with five points.
• Jack Collins and Owen Behr led USMMA with two assists each.
• Brendan Ring led USMMA in ground ball pickups with six.
• Michael Valentine caused three turnovers for USMMA.
• Julian Garcia made four saves for USMMA.
• WNE defeated USMMA 12-9.

Up Next on the Schedule:

The Golden Bears will return to Golden Bear Stadium to host their first CNE contest of the 2025 season. They will host Gordon College at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. Since 2004, the Golden Bears have been 18-0 versus the Fighting Scots, and they look to continue that unbeaten run on Wednesday.