Box
Score
MANCHESTER, NH – The
Williams College men's hockey team used three power play
goals to power past Division 2 foe St. Anselm's
6-2. Senior Captain Alex Smigelski led the way
with three goals and an assist, while Junior Ben Contini pitched in
two goals, and freshman Mike Broft had three
assists. The Ephs jumped out to a 4-0 lead
midway through the second period and held on the rest of the way
for the win.
The Hawks came out strong to open the game,
and sophomore goalie Ryan Purdy came up huge on two breakaway
attempts early to keep the game tied. Williams
generated some offensive chances of their own and appeared to have
the game's first goal when Smigelski flew to the net off a
pass from freshman Evan Dugdale. The whistle
blew with the puck buried underneath the Hawk's goalie Alex
Wyse. Smigelski netted his first goal a few
minutes later when he fired a pass intended for Dugdale that was
redirected off a St. Anselm skate into the net.
Contini extended the Eph lead just over four minutes
later. Freshman Eric Rubino stole the puck deep
in the Hawk's zone and found Contini on the far
circle. Contini fired a shot over Wyse's
near shoulder to give the Eph's a 2-0 lead.
The Ephs got on the board again with two quick
goals early in the second period. Contini got
his second goal on the power play when he buried a rebound off a
shot by Broft. Smigelski scored again less than
thirty second later when Dugdale stick-handled past two defenders,
leaving Smigelski with an open net. St.
Anselm's got on the board midway through the period when John
Hennessey skated into the zone on a 3 on 2 rush and slid the puck
past an outstretched Purdy. The Hawks scored
again late in the period, converting on the power play when Brendan
Carroll buried a rebound off a shot by Hennessey. Williams answered
on another power play goal when Junior Connor Olvany scored on a
rebound after Junior Brian Malchoff made a great effort to keep the
play alive.
Williams finished the game with a strong third
period. Smigelski
completed the hat trick on the power play when he sniped a shot
from the top of the circle over Wyse. Purdy
wound up with 23 saves, including a couple of huge glove saves late
in the game. Head Coach Bill Kangas was pleased
with the team's performance: “I thought we came out
with the same level of effort and defensive support as we did
against Plattsburgh on Monday. We moved the puck and took shots
when we had to and it was nice to get three power play goals
tonight. It's a
game we can build on going into tomorrow's game.”
The Ephs conclude the weekend tomorrow when
they take on New England College at 4 PM. View the game
online by CLICKING
HERE.
