Box
Score
AMHERST, MA -- It was nothing short of a mighty task for the
Williams women's hockey team to end their six-game losing streak
against conference leader Amherst, but they made their Little Three
foe earn their 1-0, senior day victory. Amherst (16-4-0)
clinched the NESCAC division yesterday with a decisive 5-0 win over
second-place Middlebury, and with the today are now 14-0 in the
conference. The Ephs (6-15-1) continue to struggle, as they
are stuck near the bottom of the division with a 4-9-1 mark.
The sole score of the contest came at 16:18 of the second
period, when sophomore forward Courtney Hanlon put a shot just
underneath the crossbar on the near post to break the tie. Freshman
defenseman Stephanie Clegg and junior forward Michelle McGann
registered assists on the goal.
Williams had their share of opportunities in the match,
including two 5-on-3 advantages in the middle and final frames, but
despite putting pucks toward the net, they were unable to put the
puck past sophomore netminder Caroline Hu, who denied 16 Eph
attempts to earn her second shutout this season.
"We had some chances in this game," said Eph head coach Shannon
Bryant. "I thought we did a nice job of staying with the game
plan and it generated some quality chances. Sometimes the puck
doesn't bounce your way and you can't come up with a goal."
Besides the their seven power-play opportunities, the best Eph
chance came midway through the opening, when junior forward Tracey
Ferriter muscled her way to the puck in the neutral zone and gained
a clear path to the net. However, the Amherst defenders
hustled back to their zone and knocked away the puck to spoil the
scoring chance.
Junior goalie Sara Plunkett had what might have been her best
game all year, stopping 40 out of the 41 Lord Jeff shots, including
20 saves in the opening 20 minutes period. The three seniors,
Mallory Green, Joey Lye, and Sam Tarnasky, also put forth valiant
efforts, as confirmed by their coach:
"I thought our three seniors played exceptionally well," praised
Bryant. "They really skated with a lot of intensity and left
it all on the ice."
Williams have one more weekend left this season, as they will
host Hamilton on Friday and Wesleyan on Saturday. The puck
will drop at 7PM at the Lansing Chapin Rink this Friday, and 3PM on
Saturday.
