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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- The Williams women's ice
hockey team did not look like a group still acclimating itself to a
new head coach and a new system in their season opener against
Hamilton at Lansing Chapman rink tonight, but more like a team that
was in midseason form, skating with confidence and purpose from the
very first faceoff to the final whistle in their 2-0 shutout
victory. The win marks the first of what Eph fans are hoping to be
many more in the head coaching career of Marissa O'Neil.
"I told the players before the game that the most important thing
for us to do was to come out and be aggressive," commented O'Neil.
"In the first game, you're not going to have your systems down
perfectly, so it was essential that we apply the pressure right
from the get go. We did a great job of keeping Hamilton on their
heels in the beginning of play."
This aggressive playing style had its pluses and minuses for the
Ephs in this one, for while their determined hustle and
attack-minded attitude caused turnovers and led to scoring chances,
it also caused 11 penalty calls against them, much to the
displeasure of the large home crowd. Not to be outdone, the
Continentals matched Williams penalty for penalty over the sixty
minutes, committing 11 violations of their own.
"The pace of this game was extremely up and down, mainly due to
the officiating," remarked O'Neil. "Our penalty kill did a great
job staying composed and maintaining concentration throughout...and
there might have been a different outcome had it not been for
that."
The first period turned out to be the least penalty-ridden twenty
minutes of the three, as both sides drew 2 a piece. It was apparent
from the start that Williams' #1 line was going to be a forceful
factor in this contest, as the trio of seniors Tracey Ferriter,
Torrey Taussig, and sophomore Hannah Systrom had Hamilton
scrambling in their own zone and looking overmatched in their first
shift. A centering feed from behind the net to Ferriter was almost
the first score of the year, but Continental freshman netminder
Becca Hazlett stood tall and knocked it aside to prevent an early
score.
"Our first line was simply unbelieveable tonight," praised O'Neil.
"The three of them move so well off the puck and they did great
work controlling the play in the offensive zone.... They've only
been playing together for a week, but from watching them you'd
never tell."
The second line for Williams also came out the gate with
authority, following up the first line with another convincing
shift. Sophomore forward Kristen Tubbs nearly capitalized on a
deflection on the far-side but came up just shy of the inside of
the post. Consistent puck control and pressure at the net
eventually led to the first power play advantage of the season for
the Ephs later in the period, but the Continentals held their
ground and in fact nearly converted a shorthanded breakaway, as
freshman Katie Zimmerman tried to sneak a backhander under the pad
of Eph senior goaltender Sara Plunkett, who knocked the try into
the boards.
On the flip side, the Eph penalty kill was calm and collected in
their first two kills of the year. The defense held a tight
formation, allowing very little room in the passing and shooting
lanes. In fact for the entirety of regulation, it seemed like
Hamilton had better scoring chances when they were down a skater,
as opposed to when they were on the positive side of the
advantage.
After a scoreless first period, Williams caught a big break in the
opening minute of the second after a Hamiltion defender slipped on
the fresh ice, leading to a 2-on-1. Ferriter sped down the wing and
fed Taussig in front, but she missed the far post on the backhand
by inches, drawing a loud sigh from the stands. The Ephs' speed
became more apparent in the middle frame, as their quickness caused
back-to-back breakout chances. Still, Williams could not find a way
to beat Hazlett, despite several power play opportunities and a
5-on-3 advantage.
Hamilton would also have a short 5-on-3 in the period, but they
were confounded by the reflexes of Plunkett who made a split-pad
save on Zimmerman and a glove save at the end of the penalty kill
to keep things knotted at zero.
"As someone who coached against Sara, I couldn't be happier that
she's playing for us," beamed O'Neil. "Our team is able to put so
much trust in her abilities and it allows us to be way more
aggressive in the defensive zone, which leads to more chances at
the other end. She settled us down at key moments in this
game...and was very clean and very focused the whole night."
After Plunkett made another great save on a shorthanded
point-blank wrister by sophomore Laura DiCarlo, her teammates
responded with the season's first strike. Junior forward Jaqueline
Berglass took a beautiful feed from the boards and almost slid it
under the pads of Hazlett, but after a brief scuffle at the side of
the net, the rebound was lifted in by senior defenseman Kait
O'Brien for the power-play goal at 18:55.
"The team really started to settle down in the second period,"
said O'Neil. "We were aggressive in the first twenty minutes, but
we were a little frantic as well. I think after Sara came up big a
few times, our nerves started to steady themselves and we were able
to control the puck better and put better shots on net."
In the third, Williams continued to have the upper hand, pinning
the puck deep in the Continental zone and forcing three penalties
in the first ten minutes of play. After Taussig and Tubbs both
barely missed giving the Ephs a two-goal lead, Hamilton countered
with their strongest shift of the night, flinging slapshots and
wristers at the net and even hitting the near post from the circle.
But Plunkett and the Ephs remained composed and were able to stave
off the threat.
With under three minute to play, the Ephs took their final penalty
of the game, and Zimmerman nearly made them pay with a fancy deke
in the circle in the final seconds of the advantage. The Eph
defense came up clutch again however, poke-checking the puck out of
her reach and turning it into an empty net 2-on-1 at the other end.
Tubbs got the puck to an unguarded Berglass, who tap it into the
net to clinch a 2-0 season opening win at home.
O'Neil and Williams will try to remain undefeated, as they host
league foe Connecticut College tomorrow afternoon at Lansing
Chapman rink. The puck drops at 3 PM.
