WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 6, 2026) – The men's ice hockey program was on the ice in West Springfield, MA, on Friday, hosting the Bison of Nichols College. The Golden Bears would let up two goals in the first seven minutes to the Bison before Matt Dougherty got WNE on the scoreboard in the second. The Bison would answer with two in the second half of the second period of play. Even with a goal from Everest Schneider in the third, it would not be enough, and WNE dropped the contest 5-2.

Records:
Western New England: 5-15-0 (2-12-0)
Nichols College: 7-12-0 (4-10-0)

How it Happened:
First Period:

• The Bison got the game started quickly, scoring 56 seconds into the contest. Justin Massa found the back of the net off a Jeremy Tremblay and Brendan Schmidt assist combination. They had an early 1-0 lead.
• The teams traded shots after that, with WNE having some chances to equalize. However, CJ Zezima was found by Justin Massa and netted the second Bison goal. Zezima doubled the Bison lead 2-0.
• WNE had the lone power play chance after that, but only had three shots on the man-up chance, giving up a shot as well. The Bison ended the first on an eight-shot run to shut out WNE in the first period of play. They led in shots 23-14 and shots on goal 17-4. Both teams had seven faceoff wins.

Second Period:

• Five minutes into the middle period of play, Matthew Doughtery found the goal off assists from Michael Bottrell and Nick Theodos. WNE had cut the Bison lead in half and had momentum back on their side of the ice.
• However, two power plays swung the momentum back to the Bison, and even with the Golden Bears having five shots in a row in the middle of the second, the Bison got their two-goal lead back. Zach Vandale scored with 6:22 left in the second off assists from Luca Ricci and Herman Asberg. They led 3-1.
• That lead would then extend to 4-1 with 50 seconds left in the second period of play as Gavin Duckworth scored off assists from Tristen Kimmen and Zac Gmerek. The second saw a late flurry of WNE shots, but no goals, and they still trailed in shots 23-19 and shots on goal 14-10. The Bison won the faceoff battle 11-7 in the second.

Third Period:

• Everest Schneider tried to help lead WNE to a massive comeback, and it started with a goal 5:11 into the final period of play. Brayden, Patricia, and Matthew Dougherty assisted the goal. WNE trailed 4-2.
• Gavin Duckworth netted a second goal to stop the comeback from WNE with 11:01 left in the contest. Luca Ricci had another assist, and Aaron Hamel had an assist as well.
• The Golden Bears had a couple of power plays to end the contest, but could not capitalize, and they would drop the important matchup 5-2. Final stats showed WNE was outshot 68-66, outshot on goal 44-38, and had fewer faceoff wins, 30-20. They had more blocked shots, 17-14.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears fell 5-2 versus Nichols College on Friday.
• The Golden Bears were led by goals from Matthew Doughtery and Everest Schneider.
• Matthew Dougherty had two points for WNE on Friday.
• Gavin Duckworth led the Bison with two goals.
• Justin Massa and Luca Ricci joined Duckworth with 2 points each to also lead the Bison.
• Ryan Henry made 34 saves.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will travel to Harrisville, Rhode Island, on Saturday, February 7, 2026, for a rematch with the Bison on their ice, starting at 3:40 PM.