Box
Score
WATERVILLE, ME -- Although their season began on rocky ground,
the Williams women's hockey team is beginning to truly
hit their stride, putting together a string of impressive
performances including today's victory over Colby at the Alford
Rink, a 6-0 romp in which the Ephs took an early lead and never let
it out of their grasp.
The win gives the team their third consecutive victory, as well
as their fourth in five games, as Williams climbs their way back
into the thick of their division with a 4-7-1
record. Colby has lost their last three and has dropped to a
mark of 5-4-1, after going 5-1-1 over their first seven games.
The game's offensive spotlight was firmly captured by the Ephs'
senior defenseman and co-captain Joey Lye, who lit the first red
light almost immediately in the initial period with an
unassisted score at 1:58. After two successful penalty kills,
the Ephs earned a power play chance of their own, and Lye delivered
again, netting her second unassisted goal of the period at
10:16. But the four-year veteran wasn't finished, as she beat
Colby goaltender Lacey Brown once more with 1:55 left in the
second to complete the hat trick, the first of the Williams season,
knocking Brown out of the game. Junior defenseman Allison
Page assisted on Lye's third score.
"[Joey] played a great game today," praised her Coach Shannon
Bryant. "She really picked her spots well and
played very smart offensively."
Other Williams contributors included freshman Kristen Tubbs, who
bagged a pair of goals herself in the middle period, her third and
fourth goals of the season. Sam Tanrnasky registered assists
on both scores, as she played another strong, tenacious sixty
minutes of hockey. The final Eph goal was knocked in by
junior forward Torrey Taussing early in the third, her first all
year, and the only goal put past Colby's back-up netminder Shelley
Payne.
In the opposite crease, Sara Plunkett turned in another
outstanding sixty minutes, stopping 27 Mule attempts
to attain her second shut-out of the season. In her last
three appearances, Plunkett has allowed just one goal, and her
stellar play has garnered respect from both her teammates and her
coaches.
"Sara defintely earned the shut-out today," acknowledged
Bryant. "She played a stellar game, and has been great for us
all weekend."
The Ephs also had what may have been their best game on the
penalty kill, as they spoiled all seven of the Mule's power-play
opportunities. This is an aspect of their game that has shown
significant improvement over the recent winning streak,
and could prove to be an invaluable stregth of their game in the
home stretch of the season.
"I'm very proud of the way we pressured Colby in this
game. We really created a lot of chances from our aggresive
play," said Bryant. "It's nice to string together a few wins,
and it gives us a strong feeling of confidence as we prepare for
next weekend."
The women's hockey team will do battle against Neuman in a
doubleheader series at home next weekend. The puck will drop
Friday the 16th in the Chapman
Rink at 7:00PM.
