SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 22, 2026) – A battle of conference undefeated teams ended the regular season on the bear at WNE. The Gulls of Endicott College and the Golden Bears went head-to-head on Wednesday, with the winner earning the top seed and home-field advantage in the conference tournament. The Gulls would open the first half with power, but six goals in the second half for WNE kept the game close at halftime before Endicott scored four in the second half to earn the 11-6 win.
Records:
Western New England: 11-6 (8-1)
Endicott College: 13-3 (9-0)
How it Happened:
First Quarter:
- The teams traded turnovers and shots back and forth before the Gulls would grab the early lead 8:24 into the first quarter. Tommy Tyksinski scored the first goal by himself. Manny Marshall then doubled the lead less than a minute later off a Brody MacDonald assist.
- Chris Hughes extended the Gulls' lead to three with 4:31 left in the opening quarter. Donovan Devellis was credited with the assist, and that is how the first quarter would end.
- The Golden Bears were shut out by Gio Panicola, the Gulls' goalie. He made four saves on four shots on goal. WNE's Chris Catuosco won every faceoff (all four taken), but the Golden Bears still trailed by three thanks to three separate goal-scorers for Endicott.
Second Quarter:
- 46 seconds into the second quarter, Thomas Labbe got the Golden Bears on the scoreboard. They would then get a man-up chance that they could not capitalize on, but it would not matter as Logan Jenkins would cut the Endicott lead to one with an unassisted goal 2:49 into the quarter.
- Tommy Tyksinski would stop the mini run for the Golden Bears with a man-up goal assisted by Manny Marshall. WNE trailed 4-2 with more than eleven minutes left in the first half.
- Tyksinski picked up a third goal to record a first-half hat-trick. Endicott led 5-2 off the Andrew Aylwin assist. Donovan Devellis then grabbed his second of the game to extend their lead to 6-2 with just under half of the quarter left.
- The Golden Bears would not shy away from the fight, though. Jacob Roy first scored off a Josh Gagnon assist. Then, Thomas Labbe scored his 17th goal of the season and second of the game to cut the deficit to two. Anthony Gesino would then pick up the faceoff win from Catuosco, drive down the field, and score twelve seconds later. WNE trailed 6-5.
- Another Chris Catuosco faceoff win would eventually lead to a third Labbe goal, and WNE tied the game at 6-6 with just over two minutes left in the first half. However, even after the four-goal run from WNE, Nick Graap would score off a Brody MacDonald assist with one second left, and that would end the half. Endicott led 7-6.
- Despite the scoreline, WNE led in shots (25-20), shots on goal (12-11), faceoff wins (12-2), and caused turnovers (3-2). Endicott had more saves (6-4) and ground balls (16-14).
Third Quarter:
- The Gulls would score the last goal of the first half and the first of the second. Joseph Tumolo found the back of the net 1:12 into the second.
- That goal was the lone one for the third quarter. Both defenses played tough for the rest of the third, and the Golden Bears trailed by two going into the fourth and final quarter.
- WNE led in almost every stat category during the third, but trailed in saves (3-1).
Fourth Quarter:
- After almost 22 minutes of game play without a goal, the Gulls would get their third goal in a row. It was Joseph Tumolo again to increase the lead to 9-6 for Endicott. Tommy Tyksinski scored his 50th goal of the season with 6:51 left in the game to put the Gulls up by four.
- Devellis would then score the fifth consecutive goal for the Gulls with 2:52 left in the game. Tyksinski assisted the goal, and Endicott had an 11-6 lead that would hold as the final score.
- The final stats saw Endicott lead 43-41 in shots, 20-18 in shots on goal, 32-30 in ground balls, and 12-9 in saves. WNE led 16-3 in faceoff wins and 8-6 in caused turnovers.
Inside the Lines:
- The Gulls defeated WNE 11-6 on Wednesday.
- Endicott's offense was led by Tommy Tyksinski's five points, including four goals and one assist.
- Two other Gulls had multi-goal games. Donovan Devellis and Joseph Tumolo both scored two goals for Endicott.
- Gio Panicola made 12 saves against 18 shots on goal for a .667 save percentage and shut the Golden Bears out in three of the four quarters to secure the win.
- WNE's offense was led by a Thomas Labbe hat-trick of goals.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- The Golden Bears will head into the CNE postseason tournament as the number-two seed and will play their next game at home inside Golden Bear Stadium on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 7:00 PM. Their opponent will be decided in the CNE tournament first round held on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
