SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 15, 2025) – WNE hosted the Curry College Colonels inside Golden Bear Stadium for a midweek conference contest. The Golden Bears took a quick 4-2 lead in the first quarter, then scored 3-1 to take a 7-3 lead into halftime. They then scored four goals uninterrupted in the third quarter to extend their lead to 11-3 going into the final quarter. The Colonels scored two goals in a row before Richard Fedele scored a first-career Golden Bear goal, and the Golden Bears won 12-5.

Records:

• Western New England: 7-8 (4-2)
• Curry College: 2-13 (2-4)

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears started the game with a Chris Catuosco faceoff win, but after an early turnover, the Colonels scored the opening goal. Brody Dalzell scored for the Colonels off a Nicholas Cole assist. The Colonels led 1-0 1:59 into the game. The Golden Bears answered quickly with a goal from James Wrynn to tie the contest at one. Then, Zachary Mein would give the Golden Bears a lead thirty-eight seconds after a third consecutive Chris Catuosco faceoff win. The Golden Bears led 2-1. The teams traded possession of the ball, and both teams had some turnovers. After Josh Gagnon had a shot glance off the crossbar, with 6:11 left in the opening quarter, Griffin LaRochelle found Josh Gagnon, and Gagnon found the back of the net. WNE led 3-1. Thirty-two seconds later, Jack Houlden made it four goals in a row for WNE, with the goal being assisted by James Wrynn. WNE led 4-1. Then, Curry College called a timeout, trying to slow down the WNE momentum. After winning their first faceoff of the contest, WNE's goalie, Jonathan Salsbury, made two saves, with the second being a big save in front of the face of the goal to keep WNE up by three. After each team had a few turnovers, WNE would claim possession and then call a timeout to slow down the game and set up a possible goal-scoring opportunity. They drew up a great chance in the timeout huddle, but Niko DeCola made a great save in front of the net to keep WNE at bay for the moment. That led to a good clear and an unassisted goal from Nicholas Cole, who scored with 1:04 left in the first. The Colonels trailed 4-2. The Golden Bears had two shots to conclude the quarter, and DeCola made both saves to end the quarter with a score of 4-2, WNE. Stats favored the Golden Bears for the most part at the break. WNE led in shots 9-8, shots on goal 7-4, faceoff wins 6-1, and ground balls 13-5. The Colonels led in saves 3-2, and both teams had two caused turnovers.

The Golden Bears won the opening faceoff of the second quarter, and twelve seconds later, Thomas Labbe scored. WNE led 5-2. The teams traded shots, saves, and turnovers for the following six minutes. It was Curry College who got the scoring started once again. Jed Cappuccino scored off an assist from Sebastian Reid. WNE led 5-3 with 8:33 left in the first half. The Golden Bears answered via a Jack Houlden goal assisted by Max Rudgers 1:10 after the Colonels' goal. WNE led 6-3. That was followed 1:21 later by Nicholas Campagnone, who scored an unassisted goal, and WNE led 7-3. A slashing penalty was then called on the Colonels. The Golden Bears had another quick chance, but LaRochelle stung the post, and they could not capitalize on the extra-man chance. Both offenses would ask questions of the opposing goalies, but both DeCola and Salsbury made saves. Then, the Colonels would get called for a penalty, and WNE would earn a man-up chance after a WNE timeout. The Golden Bears would turn over possession and not capitalize on the man-up chance. Then, the Colonels called a timeout to set up their offense with forty seconds left in the first half. The Colonels took the last shot of the half and could not score. The Golden Bears led 7-3 at the half. The Golden Bears led in shots 23-16, 11-9 in shots on goal, 24-13 in ground balls, faceoff wins 10-2, and saves 6-4. The Colonels led 7-4 in caused turnovers.

The Golden Bears started the third quarter with a faceoff win and a Griffin LaRochelle goal assisted by Zachary Mein 1:16 into the second half. The Golden Bears led 8-3. The teams would trade possession for an extended amount of time. Salsbury and DeCola made saves, and the defenses would make the attackers and midfielders send shots wide of the net. It was a defensive battle for most of the beginning of the third quarter. After 9:20 of the teams trading possession, the Golden Bears scored. Kai McDonald scored off a Dylan Nardone assist. Fifty-four seconds later, Zachary Mein scored an unassisted goal to give the Golden Bears a 10-3 lead. Then, thirty-four seconds later, James Wrynn scored another goal, and WNE led 11-3 with 2:56 remaining in the third quarter. That's when Curry College called a timeout to try to get a reset of momentum. Neither team scored another goal for the rest of the third, and the Golden Bears had an 11-3 lead going into the fourth quarter. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Golden Bears led in shots 32-18, shots on goal 17-10, ground balls 34-17, saves 7-6, and faceoff wins 15-2. The Colonels led 9-8 in caused turnovers.

Rocco DeSimone won the opening faceoff of the fourth quarter for the Golden Bears. However, the teams would trade turnovers to start the fourth and final quarter. Joey Pinto would end the Golden Bears' scoring run with an unassisted goal with 7:44 left in the game. The Colonels trailed 11-4 and would call a timeout after a Ryan McGillivray faceoff win. The Golden Bears answered with a shot, but it slammed off the crossbar. Sebastian Reid would score the second Colonel goal in a row to decrease the deficit to 11-5 with 4:05 left in the game. The Colonels would not go away as they sent shot after shot towards the goal but could not score. Then, with 1:04 left in the game, Richard Fedele scored a first career Golden Bear goal to give WNE a 12-5 lead, which was the game's final goal. WNE won 12-5. The Golden Bears led in shots 44-26, shots on goal 22-12, ground balls 43-25, and faceoff wins 18-3. The Colonels had more saves 10-7 and caused turnovers 11-10.

Inside the Lines:

• Zachary Mein led The Golden Bears on offense, scoring two goals and one assist for three points.
• James Wrynn and Jack Houlden also scored two goals for the Golden Bears.
• Chris Catuosco won 13-of-15 faceoffs and scooped up 11 ground balls.
• David Noel caused three turnovers for the Golden Bear defense.
• The Colonels were led by Sebastian Reid and Nicholas Cole, each with one goal and one assist.
• Joey Pinto picked up six ground balls for the Colonels and caused three turnovers.
• The Golden Bears won the game 12-5.

Coach's Corner:

Zachary Mein was asked a couple of questions after the win. Mein was first asked for a comment on Mein's performance (two goals and one assist) and the team's performance today. "It was a pretty good game. (The team) got better from the Roger game, and we gotta just keep working to get better for Hartford," Mein stated. When asked what it would take to get the job done against Hartford, Mein replied, "A lot of hard work and determination."

Head coach John Klepacki was asked what Klepacki thought it took to get the win against Curry College. "I think our guys are still trying to figure out their chemistry on things. I think we're getting closer, and I think we're figuring out what we need to do pace-wise. It seemed like, at times, we were rushing a little bit, and I think once we settled down and trusted each other, some good things happened.

Up Next on the Schedule:

WNE will go on the road to face the University of Hartford on Saturday, April 19, 2025, at noon in their final road game of the regular season. The Golden Bears and Red Hawks will face off for just the second time in their history.