Bristol, R.I. (April 26, 2025) – The Golden Bears stormed into Bristol, Rhode Island, for a rematch with the Roger Williams University Hawks in the quarterfinals of the CNE tournament. Despite trailing 5-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Golden Bears would go on a six-goal run and lead the Hawks 9-6 at the half. They added five more goals in the third without letting in one and ran to a 16-10 victory and a spot in the CNE tournament semifinals at Endicott College.

Records:

• Western New England: 9-9 (5-3)
• Roger Williams University: 9-9 (5-3)

How it Happened:

On a rainy Saturday in Bristol, Rhode Island, Jonathon Salsbury and Aaron D'Aversa stood in goal to begin the CNE quarterfinal clash. Roger Williams got the game started early. Malcolm Steegstra got the scoring started with an unassisted goal after David Rizzo won the opening faceoff. Then, 36 seconds later, Matt Hemmert scored after an Eric Brooks assist and another Rizzo faceoff win. WNE trailed RWU 1:48 into the game. Catuosco quickly flipped the script with a faceoff win leading to a Griffin LaRochelle goal 37 seconds after the second Hawks' goal. The teams went back and forth, but Eric Brooks hit the post, and Salsbury made a save to keep the Golden Bear deficit at one. Nicholas Campagnone tied the game at two just over five minutes into the game. Ryan Vendetti would then slot a shot into the goal after two Salsbury saves, and RWU led 3-2. The Golden Bears would answer with a great chance, but Campagnone hit the post, and the teams went back and forth with possession of the ball. Matt Hemmert struck the post, and after a successful clear attempt from WNE, Griffin LaRochelle got the ball from Nicholas Campagnone and scored. WNE was tied 3-3 with 4:16 left in the opening quarter. Just under a minute after that goal, Hemmert responded for the Hawks, and they led 4-3. The teams traded shots before Jack Kester received a pass from Matt Hemmert with 48 seconds left in the first and scored. RWU led 5-3 at the end of the first quarter after being unable to capitalize on a WNE penalty. RWU had a significant lead in stats at the end of one quarter. RWU led in shots 21-6, shots on goal 9-4, ground balls 14-8, and faceoff wins 6-3. WNE led 4-1 in saves during the first.

The second quarter saw the Golden Bears turn the game on its head. The teams traded the ball back and forth for the first four minutes of the second quarter. Salsbury made a save for WNE, leading to a successful clear and a James Wrynn goal. WNE trailed by one. With 10:36 left in the first half. Thirty-six seconds later, Jacob Roy scored the game-tying goal. The teams each had possession of the ball after that before Zachary Mein found the netting with a shot. WNE led 6-5. The teams traded shots before both teams would take timeouts with 6:16 and 5:43 left in the first half. D'Avera and Slasbury both made saves before the next goal was scored. It was the Golden Bears extending their lead to 7-5 via a Jack Houlden goal with 4:40 left in the half. Catuosco won the ensuing faceoff, ran down the field, and fed a pass to Jacob Roy, who scored six seconds after the last goal. Then, Catuosco won the faceoff after that goal, and forty-eight seconds later, Max Rudgers found Josh Gagnon for the ninth WNE goal of the half and the sixth goal in a row for the Golden Bears. Rizzo won the next faceoff for the Hawks, trying to switch the momentum, and Hemmert would help do that 1:10 after the sixth Golden Bear second-quarter goal. WNE now led 9-6. WNE was then called for a penalty, but RWU could not capitalize on the man-up chance. Both teams called timeouts to find the final goal of the second quarter, but D'Aversa made a save for the Hawks, and a Hawk shot went high after their timeout, and WNE led 9-6 after the first half thanks to the 6-1 second quarter run. The stats at halftime saw WNE even them out. Although RWU still led in shots 30-22, WNE and RWU were tied in shots on goal 12-12. RWU still led in ground balls 21-18, but both teams had eight faceoff wins now. WNE still led in saves, 6-3.

The second half started with a WNE run, which went on throughout the third quarter. Matt Hemmert thought he had the quarter's opening goal, but the ball struck the post, and a little over three minutes later, Jack Houlden earned that first goal of the third honor. WNE led 10-6. Then, RWU was called for a penalty, but WNE could not capitalize on the man-up chance. Salsbury then made a save for WNE, and Wrynn scored with 7:26 left in the third. WNE led 11-6. The teams went back and forth, with D'Aversa making a save before Jack Houlden scored after James Wrynn passed Houlden the ball for the assist. Nineteen seconds later, James Wrynn took advantage of another Chris Catuosco won faceoff to extend the lead to 13-6 for WNE. RWU answered with a timeout. However, that did not stop the Golden Bear momentum. James Wrynn caused a turnover, which led to Zach Mein scoring the fourteenth WNE goal and the eleventh goal out of the last twelve in the game. Neither team would find the back of the net after that in the third quarter. WNE was called for another penalty, but the Hawks could not capitalize once again, and the teams would go into the fourth and final quarter of the quarterfinal matchup with WNE leading 14-6. Stats after three-quarters of play saw RWU still leading in shots 37-36 but trailing in shots on goal 19-14, saves 8-5, and ground balls 32-28. Both teams had eleven faceoff wins.

Roger Williams put Max Williams in net to start the fourth quarter. Carter Shelton then scored off a Jack Kester assist. The Hawks cut the WNE lead in half and then scored another one on a man-up chance after a WNE penalty was called against the Golden Bears. Matt Hemmert had the eighth Hawks goal off another Jack Kester assist. Salsbury made a big save after that to deny a third consecutive Hawk goal, and over four minutes later, Griffin LaRochelle gave the Golden Bears a 15-8 lead. The teams went back to trading possession of the ball for a couple of minutes before the Hawks scored their third goal of the quarter. The score became 15-9 after a Carter Shelton goal. Ryan Vendetti had the assist. Then, after two Max Kimmel saves for the Hawks and an RWU turnover, the Golden Bears extended their lead back to seven goals with a Jacob Roy goal with 3:17 left in the game. That was the final goal for the Golden Bears, and after a Ryan Vendetti man-up goal, assisted by Jack Kester, WNE would see the clock tick down and hit zero, with the Golden Bears ahead in goals 16-10. WNE won the CNE tournament quarterfinal matchup and advance to play Endicott College on Wednesday. The final stats showed WNE leading in shots 46-42, shots on goal 24-20, saves 10-8, ground balls 42-35, and faceoff wins 16-12.

Inside the Lines:

• James Wrynn led the Golden Bears on offense with a hat trick of goals and one assist for four total points. Wrynn also picked up two ground balls, and one caused turnover.
• Three other Golden Bears recorded hat tricks. Jack Houlden, Griffin LaRochelle, and Jacob Roy tallied the hat tricks.
• Chris Catuosco picked up 13 ground balls and went 16-24 from the faceoff spot.
• Jonathon Salsbury made ten saves to earn WNE the win.
• Matt Hemmert tallied five points with four goals and one assist for the Hawks. Hemmert picked up two ground balls, too.
• David Rizzo led the Hawks with seven ground balls and 12 faceoff wins.
• The Hawk goalies (D'Aversa and Kimmel) made eight saves combined for the Hawks.
• WNE won the playoff game 16-10.

Up Next on the Schedule:

The Golden Bears will take on Endicott College on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Beverly, Massachusetts, with the time to be announced. The Golden Bears dropped their contest versus Endicott 23-7 on April 5, 2025.