Box
Score
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The
15th-ranked Williams College men's hockey team rallied from a
disappointing weekend, battling to a 1-1 tie with third-ranked
Plattsburgh State. The Ephs were playing their
third game in four days after dropping a pair of NESCAC contests in
Connecticut over the weekend, but showed no signs of
fatigue. Junior Matt Masucci had the Ephs only
goal, while sophomore goalie Ryan Purdy held off the talented
Cardinal attack.
Both teams came flying out of the gate,
playing back and forth, fast-paced hockey.
Junior Brian Malchoff had the Ephs best chance in the first period,
jumping up from his defensive spot to split the Cardinal defense
and throw a shot on Chris Wieland. Williams
played inspired against a team that they lost to 6-1 a year ago, as
they sought to establish themselves as a top team nationally.
The only scoring of the game came in a span of
less than a minute midway through the second
period. Freshman Mark Lyons, playing in his
first game at Lansing Chapman Rink, fired a shot on
Wieland. The puck deflected off Wieland's
shoulder and was eventually knocked into the net by Masucci who was
crashing the net on the play. The Cardinals
answered right back, however, when Andrew Willock scored on a
rebound off a Matty Mcleod slap-shot from the point less than a
minute later.
Both teams had numerous chances in the third
period, with Williams outshooting Plattsburgh 11-10, but the
goaltenders stood tall. Masucci had the Ephs
best chance in overtime as he took the puck from his own zone all
the way to the Cardinal net, just missing on a shot that got past
Wieland. Purdy came
up huge to preserve the tie late in overtime as Plattsburgh had a
couple point-blank opportunities. Head Coach
Bill Kangas was excited about the play of his goaltender, saying
“Purdy really stepped up and had one of his strongest games
of the year. Our
defense also played well and our forwards back-pressured
aggressively, which is something we've been working
on.”
Coach Kangas
was also pleased with the effort of the entire team: “There
was a sense of urgency in our game tonight. We
competed for 65 minutes, especially
defensively.” Kangas noted the importance
of the game, after a tough stretch of the season: “We
rebounded well and executed well to tie a good
team. It was a good building game for us.”
The Ephs return to action this weekend as they
take on St. Anslem's on Friday night before playing New
England College on Saturday.
