SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 30, 2026) – The Western New England men's ice hockey team will have a new home for the upcoming 2026-27 season, playing all ten home games at Smead Arena in Springfield as the team announced its season schedule this afternoon. 

The Golden Bears won't play at Smead Arena until their fourth game of the season, as the first three contests are set to be on the road, including opening night, when the Blue and Gold travel to Westfield State University on Friday, October 30, for a 7:35 PM puck drop. The Golden Bears will continue their season-opening three-game road trip with a stop at Skidmore College on Saturday, October 31, at 4:00 PM. Conference of New England (CNE) action will open the next weekend for WNE, as the Golden Bears will head to the newest member of the CNE, a familiar foe, at Salve Regina University on Friday, November 6, at 7:30 PM. The home opener is slated for the following evening, as Western New England hosts Salve Regina in the first game back at Smead Arena since 2016, on Saturday, November 7, at 4:00 PM. 

Conference play continues during the weekend of November 13-14, playing on the road at Suffolk University before hosting the Rams on Saturday, November 14 at 5:30 PM. Western New England plays its first midweek game of the season on Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 PM, traveling to Trinity College (Conn.). The final
conference weekend of the 2026 year takes place next when the Golden Bears take on Endicott College on home ice on Friday, November 20 at 7:30 PM, before traveling to Endicott on Saturday, November 21 for a 3:00 PM puck drop. Western New England men's ice hockey will play three non-conference games before the winter break, traveling to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) on Tuesday, November 24 at 8:00 PM, to Post University on Wednesday, December 2 at 7:30 PM, and to Keene State College on Friday, December 4 at 7:15 PM. 

The new year will kick off on home ice when WNE hosts Saint Michael's College on Friday, January 8 at 5:30 PM. That will be the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Golden Bears, as 12 CNE games await to end the regular season. Wentworth Institute of Technology will be next up for the Golden Bears,
traveling to Boston on Friday, January 15, at 6:30 PM, before hosting the Leopards on Saturday, January 16, at 4:00 PM. The schedule continues when the Golden Bears host the University of New England on Friday, January 22, and travel to UNE on Saturday, January 23. The final weekend of January sees the Blue and Gold play a home-and-home with the Bison of Nichols College, hosting the Bison on Friday, January 29, and traveling to Nichols on Saturday, January 30. 

The month of February will roll around with the Golden Bears having just six games remaining on the schedule. The Blue and Gold will head to Roger Williams University on Friday, February 5, for a 5:00 PM start, before hosting the Hawks the next evening for a 4:00 PM puck drop. Curry College visits Smead Arena the next
weekend, as the Golden Bears host the Colonels on Friday, February 12, at 7:30 PM, before taking the trip to Milton, Massachusetts, on Saturday, February 13. The final regular-season games of the season has the Golden Bears on the road at Johnson & Wales University on Friday, February 19, and hosting the Wildcats on the last day of the regular season on Saturday, February 20, at 4:00 PM. 

To view the full Western New England men's ice hockey schedule, click here.