Men’s Ice Hockey Opens Season with 4-1 Win over Westfield State

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Western New England University men's ice hockey team opened its 2019-20 campaign with a 4-1 victory over Westfield State University on Friday night in non-conference action at the Amelia Park Ice Arena.

Top Performers
The Golden Bears were led by junior forward Anthony Frati (Churchville, N.Y.), who buried a pair of goals. Junior Luciano Bucci (Franklin Square, N.Y.) and freshman John D'Aniello (Toms River, N.J.) also scored in their Western New England debuts.

Senior goaltender Kyle Carducci (Rocky Hill, Conn.) stopped 37 of the 38 shots he faced to earn the win in net.

Game Review
Western New England opened the scoring on a power play 7:48 into the first period as senior Corey Kennedy (Clemmons, N.C.) sent a pass across the slot to Bucci, who buried a shot into the back of the net to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead.

Early in the second period, Western New England doubled its advantage as senior captain Andrew Green (Plainview, N.Y.) capitalized off a Westfield State turnover behind the net and found a wide open D'Aniello for his first collegiate goal to make it 2-0.  

Five minutes later, the Golden Bears increased their lead to 3-0 as another Westfield State turnover caused by junior Nolan Zweep (Abbotsford, B.C.) led to Frati's first goal of the night.

The Owls got on the board courtesy of senior Francois-Xavier Girard (St. Lazare, Quebec) at the 14:24 mark of the third period, but Frati buried an empty net goal late to extend the final margin to 4-1.

Notes
• The Owls outshot the Golden Bears 38-34, while Western New England held a 35-34 edge in the faceoff circle.
• The Golden Bears defeated the Owls for the second time in the last three seasons.

Up Next
Western New England (1-0) opens Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play next Friday night against Wentworth at the Olympia Ice Center. Westfield State (0-1) hosts Worcester State on Tuesday in the Owls' MASCAC opener at 7:35 p.m.