BRISTOL, R.I. (April 12, 2025) – The Golden Bears traveled to take on the Hawks of Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. It was a rough start for the Golden Bears as the Hawks took a 5-2 lead into the second quarter. The Golden Bears clawed back a little in the second and trailed 7-5 at half thanks to a last-second Jack Houlden goal. The Hawks responded with a major third quarter. They outscored the Golden Bears 4-0 in the third. Although WNE would outscore the Hawks 2-0 in the fourth quarter, they dropped their first-ever contest to the Hawks 11-7.

Records:

• Western New England: 6-8 (3-2)
• Roger Williams University: 7-7 (3-2)

How it Happened:

The conference clash with the Hawks began at 3:00 pm, and the hosts earned the opening goal. Despite Chris Catuosco winning the opening faceoff and having the majority of the shots in the opening four and a half minutes of play, Aaron D'Aversa would make a big save for the Hawks before a couple of turnovers landed RWU with the ball, and Jack Kester would net the opening goal. RWU led 1-0. Catuosco won the ensuing faceoff, but WNE was called for a penalty. Although Roger Williams could not score on the man-up chance due to a Jonathan Salsbury save for WNE, Ryan Vendetti would score just over fifteen seconds after the chance ran out. The hosts led 2-0 5:15 into the contest. Catuosco won a third consecutive faceoff, but D'Aversa made a save. Then, a RWU penalty led to a WNE man-up chance. However, they could not take advantage of the opportunity either. The Golden Bears would get a goal just after the chance expired. Jacob Roy continued to lead the Golden Bears with a goal assisted by Connor Callahan. WNE trailed 2-1 with 7:02 remaining in the opening quarter. David Rizzo answered for the Hawks with a faceoff win. After trading possession, WNE had a chance to tie the game at two, but D'Aversa was again there to make the save. Then Malcolm Steegstra netted a shot, and RWU doubled their lead. The teams would continue to trade possession of the ball after the goal before WNE took a timeout to figure out how to cut into the Hawks' lead. They would have a couple of shots but no luck on a second goal. Then, RWU was called for a penalty, which gave WNE a one-minute man-up chance. WNE had three shots during that chance, with the second stinging the post and the third finding the back of the net. Zachary Mein found Thomas Labbe, and the Golden Bears trailed by one, 3-2, with 2:53 left in the first. Roger Williams answered immediately. Thirty-eight seconds later, Matt Hemmert scored, and Roger Williams led by two once again. The Golden Bears looked to respond, but D'Aversa would keep them from scoring and led a clear that ended with Carter Shelton scoring off an assist from Jack Kester, and WNE was in trouble early, trailing 5-2. Roger Williams won the ensuing faceoff and would call a timeout to try to draw up their sixth goal of the game. They would not score due to David Noel causing a turnover, and the score was 5-2 going into the second quarter. The stats saw WNE leading in shots 14-9, ground balls 14-6, and caused turnovers 4-0. RWU led in saves 4-1. The teams were tied in faceoff wins 4-4 and shots on goal 6-6.

Chris Catuosco continued to try to spark the WNE offense with a faceoff win, and that's what it did. It led to Josh Gagnon finding Dylan Nardone for a goal thirty-nine seconds into the second quarter. WNE trailed 5-3. The Hawks would answer forty-seven seconds after that via an Eric Brooks unassisted goal, and RWU led 6-3. The teams would trade possession, and Salsbury made a save for the Golden Bears before RWU was called for a penalty. The Golden Bears would fail to capitalize on the man-up opportunity, and the Hawks scored to give them a 7-3 lead thanks to an Eric Brooks man-down goal. The Golden Bears did not shy away. They continued to press against the Hawks' defense. However, they could not find an immediate answer. The scoring spree slowed down for a little while as the teams traded shots and turnovers. Jonathan Salsbury made two saves during the scoreless time of over five minutes. Then, Griffin LaRochelle scored for WNE, and the Hawks led 7-4 with 5:43 left in the first half. RWU won the next faceoff, trying not to let the Golden Bears switch the direction of the momentum. The play would not be as crisp after the WNE goal as the teams traded turnovers and wide shots. RWU gave WNE a man-up chance but would kill it off to keep the lead at three. Jacob Roy had a major chance with 1:49 left in the half, but D'Aversa made another save. The Hawks would clear the ball and set up a chance on the other end of the field. Salsbury made the save, though, for the Golden Bears. They would clear the ball, but Will Doncaster caused a turnover that led to another shot being saved by Salsbury. The Golden Bears cleared the ball, and after a ground ball pick up by Jack Houlden, Houlden whipped a shot into the goal, and the teams entered halftime with RWU leading 7-5, but WNE with the momentum. The first-half stats saw WNE leading in shots 23-17, ground balls 27-14, faceoff wins 7-6, and caused turnovers 4-1. RWU led in shots on goal 12-10. The teams were tied in saves, 5-5.

The Hawks would squash the WNE momentum in the third quarter by piling on goal after goal. After a save by D'Aversa, Jack Kester scored the eighth goal for the Hawks and led 8-5. The teams traded shots after the goal, with D'Aversa and Salsbury making more saves. The Hawks would score a second goal almost three and a half minutes after their first goal of the third when Eric Brooks scored another goal, netting Brooks the hat trick. RWU led 9-5. They would continue to pile on the goals as they scored with 5:44 left in the third quarter to double the WNE score and lead 10-5 after another Eric Brooks goal. Eight seconds later, the Hawks scored off a Jack Kester assist to Carter Shelton, and the Hawks led 11-5. The Golden Bears would fight on. Salsbury made another save, and the teams traded possessions back and forth. The Golden Bears had multiple scoring chances, but they could not find the back of the net. RWU was called for a penalty with 2:48 left in the third, but WNE could not convert on the chance, and the Hawks would stay in the lead by six goals. They would clear the ball and call timeout before continuing their top-notch performance. The Hawks would take a shot after the timeout, but it went wide. The Golden Bears answered with a wide shot. The Hawks had the final chance of the third quarter. However, they would not score, and they led the Golden Bears 11-5, leading into the fourth and final quarter of play. After three quarters of play, the stats saw WNE leading in shots 32-30, ground balls 34-24, and saves 8-7. The Hawks led in shots on goal 19-12 and caused turnovers 6-5. The teams both had nine faceoff wins.

The fourth saw the Hawks's goalie, D'Avera, stop another WNE scoring chance a little over a minute and a half into the fourth quarter. However, the Golden Bears would try to spark a late charge with 12:05 left in the game. Jacob Roy scored off an assist from Chris Catuosco. WNE could feel the momentum as they sent another shot at the goal, but D'Aversa made the save once again. The teams traded shots, with the goalies making saves and defenses guiding shots wide of the goal. WNE just could not find a goal. Connor Callahan would cause a turnover late in the contest, hoping to spark a run for the Golden Bears. However, D'Aversa would make yet another save, and WNE would stay down by five with under five minutes left in the game. Jack Houlden would score soon after the save to cut the Roger Williams lead to four. Jacob Roy had the assist. The Hawks would lock in the final four minutes, though, and not let up another WNE goal. The Golden Bears would be called for a penalty late in the game and would not score another goal. The Hawks would get their first win over the Golden Bears in their history by a score of 11-7. The final stats saw WNE lead in total shots 45-34, but the Hawks led in shots on goal 20-18. WNE led in ground balls 41-30. RWU led in saves 11-9, faceoff wins 11-10 and caused turnovers 7-6.

Inside the Lines:

• The Hawks were led on offense by Eric Brooks, who had four goals.
• Jack Kester led the Hawks in points with five points (two goals and three assists).
• Kyle Zirn picked up six ground balls and caused two turnovers for the Hawks.
• The Golden Bears were led by Jack Houlden and Jacob Roy, each scoring two goals.
• Roy led the Golden Bears with three points (two goals and an assist).
• David Noel and Jack Gara each picked up seven ground balls, and Noel caused three turnovers for WNE.
• Jonathan Salsbury saved nine shots.
• Aaron D'Aversa made eleven saves to earn RWU the win.
• WNE fell to RWU 11-7.

Up Next on the Schedule:

WNE will return home inside Golden Bear Stadium when they host the Colonels of Curry College on April 15, 2025, at 7:00 pm. The Golden Bears look for their 19th consecutive win versus the Colonels since 2008.