Box Score HARRISVILLE, R.I. (February 6, 2026) – Led by a perfect 3/3 on the power play, the Western New England women's ice hockey team swept the regular-season series from the Bison of Nichols College on Friday evening, defeating the Bison 5-1 in Conference of New England action, marking the seventh straight win overall.

Records:

• Western New England: 14-6-0,10-3-0 CNE
• Nichols College: 5-16-0, 2-12-0 CNE

How it Happened:

First Period:

• The Golden Bears had the opening shot of the game coming just six seconds in when Maddie Pope's chance was denied by Taylor Daley, who made the start for the Bison on Friday. Western New England couldn't generate any further offense in the opening minute, with Nichols taking over, testing WNE's Rachael Irving early on. Irving had a pair of saves in the opening two minutes before the Golden Bears went back on the attack, taking three shots toward goal, with a pair being blocked as neither team took any advantage over one another in the opening minutes of the game. 
• As the game skated toward the midway point of the period, both teams exchanged shots on goal with Daley for Nichols and Irving for WNE coming up big. With 10:13 remaining in the opening period, the Golden Bears picked up the first power play of the game and needed less than a minute to cash in when Michaela Birmingham's wrist shot from the point deflected off a Bison defender at the top of the circle and found the back of the net to give WNE a 1-0 lead. Kaylin O'Connor and Lilly Ainley had assists on the opening tally, Birmingham's fifth goal of the season. 
• Following the opening goal of the game, WNE stayed on the attack, taking five shots in a span of a minute but could not add to their score. Western New England's second power play of the game came with 1:40 remaining in the opening period, a power play that produced three shots on goal but none found the back of the net as the period expired with WNE leading by just a goal. 
• Western New England took 27 total shots in the opening period, 12 that went on goal. Nichols took 19 shots overall, eight going on goal, all turned away by Irving. Birmingham led all players with six total shots and three shots on goal. 13 total Golden Bears registered at least one shot in the opening 20 minutes. 

Second Period:

• The Golden Bears opened the second period with 20 seconds remaining on the power play and capitalized in just 16 seconds to open the period to take a 2-0 lead when Michaela Birmingham struck again from the point. Birmingham took a quick wrister from the point after receiving the puck from Lilly Ainley to beat Daley on the glove side. Jenna Lynch picked up the secondary assist, extending her point streak to eight straight games. 
• Following the second goal of the game for Western New England, Nichols began putting pressure on the Golden Bears' defense as well as Irving, who came up with five saves in the opening five minutes of the period. At the eight-minute mark, Western New England went back on the power play and netted their third goal of the game on the opportunity, this time Mabel Gerard found the back of the net for her tenth of the season to put WNE in front 3-0. A shot from Maddie Pope was saved by Daley, but a rebound chance was batted home by Gerard to give Western New England the three-goal lead. Lynch picked up the secondary assist for the Golden Bears. 
• Nichols responded 30 seconds later for their first goal of the game after Keira Goffe took the puck down the right wing, where a shot on goal was saved by Irving, but a rebound was tucked away by Kaylyn Borque, putting the Bison on the scoreboard, cutting the Nichols deficit to 3-1. Following the goal, the Bison threw a pair of shots on goal that were handled by Irving before Western New England took over on offense. The Golden Bears picked up six straight shots as the game moved past the midway point of the frame.
• WNE found their first even-strength goal of the game with 3:09 remaining in the period when Jenna Lynch continued to produce on the scoresheet, this time finding a goal off a Bison turnover, her 11^th tally of the season, giving the Golden Bears a 4-1 lead. Maddie Pope picked up the only helper on the Lynch strike. The period would end with that score as the Golden Bears came away with the three-goal lead. Western New England had 12 shots on goal in the period, three of which found twine. Nichols picked up 15 shots on goal, all but one saved by Irving. 

Third Period:

• Nichols had the opening shot of the period, but Western New England quickly went on the attack with the next four shots, but were not able to add to their lead. Western New England held a small 5-4 shots on goal advantage seven minutes into the period.
• Nichols came away with three scoring opportunities at the ten-minute mark of the third period as Riley Devlin, Cela MacDougall, and Avery Moriarty all had shots on goal for the Bison. Western New England's sophomore goalkeeper Rachael Irving continued to shine, making all eight saves through the opening 12 minutes of the period. The Bison went to the power play for the first time in the game with 3:35 remaining in the third period. Nichols picked up a pair of shots on the power play before the Golden Bears killed off the penalty and iced the game with an empty-net goal when Zoe Galanoudis exited the penalty box and lofted a shot into the center of the goal for her third of the season, giving WNE a 5-1 lead, a lead they held on to for an important three points in the Conference of New England standings.   

Inside the Lines:

• Michaela Birmingham had the first two goals on the night for the Golden Bears, both power-play goals, to lead WNE to victory. Birmingham took 15 shots in the game, putting five on goal. 
• Jenna Lynch scored a goal and added two assists to extend her point streak to eight straight games. Lynch took seven shots, putting four on goal. 
• Lilly Ainley had three assists in the win, the most in a single game for the first-year. Ainley also blocked a pair of shots and was a +2 on the ice. 
• Maddie Pope picked up two assists while Zoe Galanoudis, Mabel Gerard, and Kaylin O'Connor had a point apiece. 
• Nichols tossed 38 shots on goal in the loss, while Rachael Irving came up with 37 saves for the Golden Bears. WNE had 36 shots on goal and was a perfect 3/3 on the power play. 
• WNE sweeps the regular-season series from Nichols, outscoring the Bison 14-2. 
• The Golden Bears are 11-0-1 against Nichols over the last 12 games. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears take on Endicott College tomorrow night, Saturday, February 7 at 8:00 PM from the Olympia Ice Center, in a battle for the top spot in the Conference of New England standings.