Golden Bears Fall to Westfield State in 2016-17 Opener, 4-1

Newcomer Matt O'Dea nets Western New England's lone goal early in third period

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 28, 2016) – The Western New England University ice hockey team fell to Westfield State University, 4-1, in the 2016-17 opener for both programs this evening in non-conference action at the Olympia Ice Center.

Top Performers
• Newcomer Matt O'Dea (Orland Park, Ill.) enjoyed a strong start to his Western New England career, as he scored the Golden Bears' lone goal early in the third period with the help of assists from senior captain Josh Twietmeyer (Weston, Fla.) and freshman Andrew Green (Plainview, N.Y.).

• Senior forward Jackson Leef (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and sophomore defenseman Carl Greco (Niagara Falls, Ont.) had two assists each for the Owls, while freshman netminder Kameron Limburg (Howell, Mich.) stopped 27 of the 28 shots that he faced.

Game Review
• Westfield State opened the scoring at the 14:45 mark of the first period on a power play, when Greco sent a pass from the point to sophomore forward Mason Wade (Bellingham, Wash.), who was waiting at the left post and one-timed a shot past Western New England sophomore goalie Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.).
• The Owls made it 2-0 just 20 seconds before the first intermission, capitalizing on another man-up opportunity with sophomore defenseman Wyatt Trumbley's (Campbell River, B.C.) first goal of the season.
• Western New England had a pair of solid scoring chances during a power play early in the second period, but the Golden Bears were unable to get anything past Limburg.
• The visitors extended their lead to 3-0 at the 15:47 mark of the period when junior forward Jeremy Young (Lynnfield, Mass.) scored on a feed from Leef.
• Western New England broke through 5:30 into the third period, as Twietmeyer fired a shot that ricocheted off the glass behind the net and landed at the stick of O'Dea, who stuffed home the puck for his first goal as a Golden Bear.
• The Golden Bears outshot Westfield State 13-10 in the third period, but it was the Owls that would tack on a late goal to extend the final margin back to three.

Notes
• Tonight's contest marked Western New England's return to the Olympia, where the Golden Bears played their home games from 1992-2007. The program moved to Smead Arena for the 2007-08 season and remained there through the 2015-16 campaign.
• Westfield State capitalized on three of its five power play opportunities, while Western New England went 0-for-4 with a man advantage.
• The Owls outshot the Golden Bears 38-28, while the two teams were even in the faceoff circle, winning 40 each.
• Gollmer finished with 34 saves on 38 shots in the setback.

Up Next
Western New England (0-1) opens the inaugural season of Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play next Thursday at Johnson & Wales, while Westfield State (1-0) returns home to host Post University on Tuesday night.