MILTON, Mass. (February 13, 2026) – The Western New England women's ice hockey team earned a pair of points on Friday night behind an overtime winner from Michaela Birmingham after Curry scored with just 0.5 seconds remaining in the third period to force the extra frame, but an important goal from the WNE sophomore puts the Golden Bears in sole possession of the top spot in the Conference of New England standings with three games remaining on the regular season schedule. 

Records:

• Western New England: 15-6-1, 11-3-1 CNE
• Curry College: 10-10-2, 5-8-2 CNE

How it Happened:

First Period:

• The Golden Bears started slow on offense as the Colonels had the upper hand early, taking a pair of shots on goal that Rachael Irving came away with. Zoe Galanoudis had the opening shot on goal for Western New England, saved by Coriann Hoag for the Colonels. The second shot on goal in the game for WNE found the back of the net when Mabel Gerard scored for the 12^th time this season to lead the team, giving the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. Michaela Birmingham and Jenna Lynch had assists for the Blue and Gold on the opening strike.
• Following the WNE goal, Curry brought more offense, forcing Irving into more saves. The Colonels were able to sneak a shot by Irving as the game crossed the midway point of the period when Reilly Ganter tallied her first goal of the season for Curry to even the score at one with 8:58 remaining in the period. Both teams went back-and-forth looking to take an advantage over one another with the next important goal of the game but could not find another goal in the period as the game stayed at 1-1 after the opening 20 minutes. 
• Western New England put up just six shots on goal in the first period while Curry had 13, 12 of which were saved by Irving. 

Second Period:

• Western New England owned the puck in the opening ten minutes of the second period, taking six shots on goal in the first three and a half minutes of the period, but Hoag stayed tall for the Colonels to keep the Golden Bears from scoring. Curry's first shot on goal didn't come until the 9:49 mark of the second period, a shot saved by Irving. Western New England totaled 11 shots in the period before Curry got their first. 
• The Colonels found their footing again after their first shot and took nine straight shots on the Golden Bears before the first power play of the game came, which belonged to Western New England. On the chance, the Golden Bears came up with four shots on goal, with Kaylin O'Connor, Michaela Birmingham, Mikayla Mrzywka, and Lilly Ainley all getting chances on goal. Just 1:54 after the penalty expired, Curry had its first chance on the advantage and picked up a pair of shots on goal on the chance before the period ended, both saved to keep the score even after two periods of action. 
• Both teams came up with ten shots on goal in the frame, with both goalkeepers keeping their teams in the game. 

Third Period:

• Curry controlled the action for the opening four minutes of the period, with Irving making three early saves. Mabel Gerard had the first shot on goal in the period, over five minutes into the frame, with Hoag continuing to stuff the Golden Bears. Just past the midway point of the period, Western New England reclaimed their lead when Maddie Pope tipped a shot in front of the net for her ninth goal of the season to give the Blue and Gold a 2-1 lead. Leah Dube and Jenna Lynch, who extended her point streak, came away with assists on the goal. 
• Western New England wasn't done there as Dube was on the board for the second time this season to extend the Golden Bears' lead to two with under seven minutes remaining in the period, giving WNE a 3-1 lead. Lynch and Pope had the assists on the goal from Dube. Curry wasted little time jumping back into the game, scoring with just over four minutes remaining in the contest when Anna Kahl picked up her first of the season to put the Colonels back within a goal, 3-2. 
• Down the stretch, Western New England looked as if they were headed to a victory in regulation and three points in the standings until a goal with 0.5 seconds remaining in the period brought Curry back to life to force overtime when Rian Faery tipped home a last-second wrister from the blue line from Grace Inoue which got by Irving, tying the game at three. 
• Curry outshot the Golden Bears 9-8 in the third period with both teams scoring a pair of goals. 

Overtime:

• In a back-and-forth OT period, Rachael Irving made a pair of saves in the opening 45 seconds to keep Curry from winning the extra point up for grabs in the game. Western New England had possession for much of the extra session and challenged the Curry defense as well as Hoag in the period. With just 37 seconds left in the frame, Valerie DuVal took a blistering wrist shot that deflected off both posts, but stayed out of the goal. With the puck loose in front of Hoag's net, Michaela Birmingham was the first to it and stuffed the puck into the back of the net to give the Golden Bears the overtime victory, 4-3. Birmingham scores her seventh of the season while DuVal and Mabel Gerard earn assists on the game-winner. 

Inside the Lines:

• A back-and-forth final 15 minutes of the game saw five total goals, three from Western New England to win it. 
• Goal scorers for WNE included Mabel Gerard, Maddie Pope, Leah Dube, and Michaela Birmingham. Gerard, Pope, and Dube all had a goal and an assist in the game. Jenna Lynch had a pair of assists for WNE. 
• Rachael Irving made 31 saves for the Golden Bears in the victory. Irving has not suffered defeat between the pipes in CNE action since November 22. 
• Curry took 34 shots to Western New England's 29 in the game.
• The Golden Bears sweep the season series from the Colonels, going a perfect 3-0-0 on the year. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• After falling twice early in the season, the Golden Bears will look to get back at the Rams of Suffolk University on home ice tomorrow, Saturday, February 14, at 7:30 PM at the Olympia Ice Center.