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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- The Williams College women's hockey squad
(5-6-1) and conference foe Middlebury (8-4-1) squared off at the
Lansing Chapman Rink this evening, resulting in a 4-2 victory for
the Panthers. With the loss, the Ephs are now 4th in the NESCAC
standings at 4-2-1, and have dipped below .500 overall for the
first time this season. The win places Middlebury in 3rd as they
improve to 6-2-1 in conference play.
The decisive factor in this evening's contest was the Panther
offense which unleashed 47 shots upon Eph senior netminder Sara
Plunkett, including 20 attempts in each of the first two periods.
The relentless speed and efficient puck movement of
Middlebury's attack forced the Williams defense to do a great deal
of "clutching and grabbing" in their own zone, as head coach
Marissa O'Neil explained after the game.
"We started off strong, in terms of our intensity and
forechecking," remarked O'Neil, "but we had difficulty maintaining
our discipline in the defensive zone and it
led to a number of penalties and clear shooting lanes....
Their transition game was comparable to Norwich, but their
skaters were simply outpacing us when they got into open space."
The Ephs competed well in the opening minutes of regulation,
working the puck behind the Middlebury net and challenging senior
goalie Lani Wright with some early flurries. But the Panthers
would strike first at 9:03 in an odd sequence of events.
Middlebury traded a 2-on-1 semi-breakaway for a line change,
swinging the puck down the boards and around the net. As
Williams skated it down the boards, the fresh Panther line pounced
on the puck at the blue line, creating a turnover that gave junior
forward Anna McNally an uncontested path to the goal. The
winger snapped it over the shoulder of Plunkett into the top corner
for her 9th of the year, with help from Maggie Melberg.
This score triggered an even more suffocating Panther effort, as
their pressure and speed drew three consecutive Eph penalties.
Despite multiple barrages aimed at Plunkett, the veteran's
fast pads and solid positioning kept the purple and gold within a
score, and her team rewarded t
his hard work in
the final minute of the frame. With the seconds dwindling on
the clock, rookie defenseman Sam Weinstein weaved through the
neutral zone and powered past two Panther defenders. The
freshman managed to wedge a backhander underneath the legs of
Wright, and she could not cover up in time before trailing junior
Stephanie Berger poked it in for her 3rd on the season to tie it
up.
It was a short-lived stalemate however, for on the ensuing
center-ice faceoff, the Panther's strongest line leapt into the Eph
zone and McNally knocked a loose puck between a pad and the post
for her 2nd tally of the period to reclaim the lead for her team
with just six seconds before the buzzer.
The middle period was a more one-sided twenty minutes, as the
Panthers outshot the Ephs 20 to 2. The only drive that
slipped by Plunkett turned out to be the game-winner, a power-play
score that was the 1st of freshman Molly Downey's career.
"We were just trying to weather the storm in that second
period," acknowledged O'Neil, "but in the third period we got back
to basics and established a forecheck again, and that made all the
difference."
The final twenty minutes was indeed more balanced, as the teams
matched each other with 7 shots a piece. While Middlebury was
on the defensive more times than not in the last frame, Williams
was not able to supply the firepower needed for two scores.
Freshman Nicolle Perry did her best to give them a chance,
when she stickhandled past the Panther defense from center ice to
the side of the net and slid a backhander through the five-hole of
Wright for her 2nd on the season, bringing the Ephs within 1.
But this would be the only Williams goal of the period, as
the Panthers shut down their even-strength strategy and their
power-play. Middlebury capped off the win in the final minute
of the game on junior forward Nora Bergman's empty-net score.
Williams will look to split the doubleheader tomorrow afternoon
at Middlebury. The opening faceoff is set for 7:00PM.
