WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (April 19, 2025) – The Golden Bears traveled to West Hartford, Connecticut, for a big conference game versus the Hawks. The teams opened the game by firing goals into the net. WNE led 5-4 after the first, but the Hawks spun it around in the second to hit halftime with an 8-6 lead. The Golden Bears stormed back to tie the game at ten going into the fourth. However, the Hawks would outscore WNE 3-1 in the fourth quarter and took the pivotal game 13-11.

Records:

• Western New England: 7-9 (4-3)
• University of Hartford: 9-6 (6-2)

How it Happened:

The teams began the game with Jonathan Salsbury and CJ Ledwick meeting in the middle of the field as the starting goalies and going to their opposing goals. Chris Catuosco won the opening faceoff. However, the Golden Bears saw two shots go wide. Hartford's first shot attempt, from Aidan Ezra, hit the back of the goal. Hartford led 1-0 2:22 into the contest. Two WNE goals quickly followed that. James Wrynn scored 3:15 into the game after a Catuosco faceoff win. They ran the same play, with Catuosco winning the faceoff and Thomas Labbe scoring the second time, thirty-five seconds after the first WNE goal. Ben Costanzo would win the next faceoff for Hartford. That led to a Salsbury save before a Sjaun Wright goal. Hartford tied the game at two 4:30 into the game. The teams traded goal after goal early. The Golden Bears had a couple of chances to get the next goal, but Ledwick made a save, and Max Rudgers stung the post with 7:46 left in the first. After Jack Hart caused a turnover, the Hawks ran down the field, and Shaun Wright found Aidan Kemp for the goal with 5:47 left in the first to make the score 3-2. Ledwick would make a save after Cauosco won the ensuing faceoff. However, the Golden Bears would get the leveling goal. James Wrynn found Jack Houlden for the goal. Twenty-seven seconds later, Thomas Labbe ripped a shot into the goal to give WNE a 4-3 lead. Just as WNE thought they had spun the momentum to their side, the Hawks would force WNE to fail their clear, and Trent Beggs found Shaun Wright, who scored and tied the game at 4-4 with 1:15 left in the first. The scoring did not stop there. Dylan Nardone caused a turnover for the Golden Bears, and that led to Jack Houlden finding James Wrynn for the goal. WNE led 5-4 with thirty-two seconds left in the first quarter, and that was the score after one-quarter of play. Ledwick had to make a save with seven seconds left to keep the score at 5-4. The first quarter stats saw WNE lead in shots 12-7, shots on goal 8-6, ground balls 9-6, and faceoff wins 7-3. Hartford led in saves 3-2.

The second saw four fewer goals from the teams combined in the second quarter. Ledwick started the second just how he ended the first, with a save. Jack Houlden then caused a turnover before Ledwick made another save, which led to an Aidan Kemp goal on the other end of the field. After that, David Noel caused a turnover, which led to Kevin Morina finding Jack Houlden for the goal. WNE had the lead back 6-5 with 3:09 left in the first half. WNE got the ball back, and Hartford was called for a penalty, which they would kill off, thanks to a blocked shot. Ledwick had a save right after that. Hartford called a timeout after that to set up their offense. The teams traded ball back and forth. With 7:16 left in the first half, Hartford started their three-goal run to end the half. Shaun Wright assisted Griffin Weller with the first of three consecutive goals, and the game was tied 6-6. Possession went back and forth, with both goalies making saves. They kept the game knotted at six before Aidan Kemp found the back of the net and gave the Hawks a 7-6 lead with 4:44 left in the half. Then, after a WNE turnover and a Hartford clear attempt, Shaun Wright found Gavin Pelletier to extend the Hartford lead to 8-6 with 3:20 left. That was the final goal of the half. Both goalies made a save before Hartford called a timeout. They got a shot on the net after that, and Salsbury made the save. Each team had another shot after that before the game went to halftime. Hartford led 8-6. At halftime, WNE led in shots 23-19, ground balls 17-12, and faceoff wins 10-6. Hartford led in saves 8-6, and both teams had 14 shots on goal.

WNE would answer the Hawks early in the second half. Catuosco won the opening faceoff for the Golden Bears, and after two shots, WNE scored. It was James Wrynn, assisted by Zachary Mein, who scored to cut the deficit to one. Possession was traded back and forth, with Salsbury making save after save to keep WNE in the game at the beginning of the third quarter. Michael Novotny then scored 5:42 into the third to give the Hawks the 9-7 lead. James Wrynn would rip a shot after that, looking to get the Golden Bears back to within one. However, Ledwick made another save. Then, on the Hartford offensive side of the field, Aidan Ezra sent a shot off the post. WNE would get the ball and call timeout. Tarin Prior would cause a turnover after the timeout but could not capitalize as Salsbury made a save. James Wrynn would then pocket two goals in forty-nine seconds to tie the game at 9-9 with 3:51 left in the game. Wrynn had caught fire and had led the Golden Bears back in the pivotal matchup. However, after a Ledwick save on the WNE offensive side of the field, Aidan Ezra earned the lead back for the Hawk with a goal 1:30 left in the game. It looked like the Golden Bears were going to be trailing the Hawks entering the fourth quarter. However, a David Noel-caused turnover led to Jack Houlden getting the ball and scoring with four seconds left in the third. WNE tied the game at 10-10 going into the fourth quarter. After three quarters, WNE led in shots 33-28, shots on goal 20-19, ground balls 23-18, and faceoff wins 15-7. Hartford led in saves 10-9.

The fourth and final quarter started with some back and forth, with both teams turning the ball over. Hartford was called for a penalty with 12:35 left in the game, but WNE could not capitalize on the man-up chance. Then, Hartford called a timeout and set up a couple shot chances. The second of which, found the goal. Michael Novotny cored, and Hartford led 11-10 with 10:47 left in the contest. Cautosco won the ensuing faceoff, looking to help WNE tie the game up once again. However, a WNE turnover led to Novotny scoring once again with 9:47 left in the game. It was not looking good for the Golden Bears, but WNE would send three shots at goal, with the third being a shot from Logan Jenkins getting past the goalie, and WNE led 12-11 with 8:43 left in the game. WNE had three shots, but none of them were on the net, and WNE turned the ball over. WNE was called for a penalty, but once again, the man-down defense would stand up and did not let the Hawks score. The teams went back and forth, and Salsbury would make a save, but then Michael Novotny found a goal and extended the Hartford lead to 13-11 with 3:59 left. After the Hartford goal, WNE had a quick chance, but Ledwick made another big save. Possession of the ball was traded back and forth after that, with WNE getting called for a penalty late in the game, and there was 1:20 left. WNE had a few shots but could not find a goal. Hartford called a timeout with twenty-four seconds left in the game, and that would eventually end the game. Nobody had another shot after that, and Hartford earned the 13-11 win over WNE. The final stats showed a different story to the scoreline. WNE led in shots 44-35, ground balls 31-20, and faceoff wins 20-7. Hartford led in shots on goal 23-22 and saves 11-10.

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears were led by James Wrynn, who scored six points, five goals, and one assist.
• Chris Catuosco won 19-of-24 faceoffs for WNE and picked up fourteen ground balls.
• David Noel caused two turnovers to lead the WNE defense.
• Hartford was led by Shaun Wright, who picked up five points, two goals, and three assists.
• Nick Didomizio led the Hawks with five ground balls.
• Seven Hawk players caused turnovers versus the Golden Bears.
• Jonathan Salsbury made ten saves.
• CJ Ledwick made eleven saves to earn the Hawks the win.
• WNE dropped the contest 13-11.

Up Next on the Schedule:

WNE will host their final game of the regular season on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 4:00 PM. They will host the Nichols College Bison on Wednesday.