Box Score BOSTON, Mass. (January 2, 2025) – The Western New England men's ice hockey team returned to play at the 60^thAnnual Codfish Bowl on Friday evening, hosted by UMass-Boston, falling to the Lancers of Worcester State University by a final score of 6-1. WNE will play in tomorrow's consolation game, looking for its first win of 2026. 

Records:

• Western New England: 2-8
• Worcester State University: 5-4

How it Happened:

First Period:

• After a nearly month-long hiatus from competition, the Golden Bears returned to the ice, coming off wins in two of their final three games from 2025. WNE got off to a quick offensive start in the opening period against Worcester State as Michael Bottrell and Everest Schneider took shots on goal that were both denied by the Lancers' goalkeeper, Donovan Alfama. WSU had the first power play of the game and totaled four shots on goal that were all denied by Luca Scaglione. The two teams exchanged shots on goal following the unsuccessful power play. Matthew Dougherty picked up a pair of shots for WNE but kept the Golden Bears from scoring. 
• Worcester State picked up the first goal of the game when Matt Lombardi got on the board seven minutes into the game to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead. Worcester State had a handful of scoring chances after the goal, seeing the Golden Bears' defense come up big to keep WSU from scoring. At the midway point of the period, Western New England picked up five straight shots, with Alex Varrin putting one on goal, but kept the Golden Bears from scoring. 
• A period filled with offense, featuring 38 shots, resulted in just the one goal for the Lancers after the first 20 minutes. Scaglione made 20 saves in the opening frame for the Golden Bears while the WNE offense produced a season-high 17 shots on goal in the first period but trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes. 

Second Period:

• Worcester State got on the board for the second time in the game to open the second period when Shane Prifrei tallied for the Lancers to give them a 2-0 lead just 26 seconds into the period. The Lancers continued to score with a goal on the power play just 2:47 into the period when Matthew Nuzzolio found twine, giving Worcester State a 3-0 lead. 
• WSU took control of much of the offense in the first ten minutes of play in the period. Western New England had just three shots on goal in the first ten minutes of action, while Worcester State peppered Scaglione with shots again in the frame, forcing the WNE sophomore to come up with 17 more saves in the second period. 
• The Lancers had their third and final goal of the period in the last minute when a second power play goal from WSU gave them a 4-0 lead when Bryce Grandbois struck with 51 seconds remaining in the period. After 17 shots on goal in the opening period, the Golden Bears could not match their offense in the second period, coming up with just four shots on goal in the second period and a single shot in the final ten minutes of the frame. Worcester State notched 20 shots on goal in the period overall. 

Third Period:

• The Golden Bears opened the third period on a power play, taking one shot, coming from Jimmy Mettler, that went wide of the net. WNE had four shots on goal in the first third minutes of the period, with Dougherty, Shane Parent, and Kyle Garland coming up with shots on goal. Western New England took control of the offense through the first five minutes of the frame overall but couldn't find the back of the net. 
• Worcester State capitalized on another goal 8:39 into the third period to extend their lead to 5-0 when Grandbois found goal for the second time in the game. A third power play goal in the game would bury the Golden Bears as Worcester State picked up its sixth goal of the night, picking up two goals in less than a minute to take a 6-0 lead when Brady Carpenter scored for the Lancers. 
• The Golden Bears had a power play chance in the final four minutes of the game but could not get a shot on goal. In the final two minutes of the game, Western New England's Matty Zdanowicz fired home WNE's first goal of the game, his second of the season, to put the Golden Bears on the scoreboard. Matthew Dougherty and Jimmy Mettler picked up assists for WNE on the play. The goal would be too late in the game, as WNE fell by a final score of 6-1. 

Inside the Lines:

• Zdanowicz had WNE's only goal of the game, coming with 1:28 remaining in the third period to spoil Worcester State's shutout. Matthew Dougherty and Jimmy Mettler had the assists on the tally. 
• Luca Scaglione made 42 saves for the Golden Bears in the loss, giving up six goals. Western New England produced 27 shots on goal while WSU's Donovan Alfama made 26 saves. 
• WNE was doomed on the penalty kill, giving up three goals on four Worcester State chances. 
• The Golden Bears were successful in the faceoff dot, winning 50 of 84 faceoffs overall. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will take on MCLA in the consolation game of the Codfish Bowl Tournament on Saturday, January 3, at 1:00 PM. The Golden Bears defeated MCLA earlier this season, 4-3.