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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The
previously unbeaten Williams men's hockey team fell in
heartbreaking fashion to their archrival Amherst College tonight by
a score of 4-1. The
Ephs entered the game as the tenth ranked team in division 3, while
the Lord Jeffs came in ranked fourteenth. A
packed house came to watch the highly anticipated game, and the two
teams did not disappoint.
The Ephs came out firing after a nearly month
long holiday break.
After an Amherst goal was called back due to a high stick early in
the contest, the Ephs took control. Captain Alex
Smigelski '10 and freshman John Wickman had huge hits in a
very physical period that featured lots of chances for both
teams. Sophomore Ryan Purdy had a number of big
saves to keep the Lord Jeffs off the board and the teams entered
the intermission tied at 0-0.
Amherst began to gather momentum during the
second period, but Purdy kept the Lord Jeffs at bay until late in
the period. Nick
Brunette capitalized on an Ephs turnover behind their own net,
scoring with less than three minutes to go in the period off
assists from Keith Nelson and Matthew
Rhone. Amherst got a huge goal a minute
and a half later when Nelson scored on a deflection off a pass from
Joe Brock. Trailing
2-0 after giving up two heartbreaking goals, the Ephs showed their
resiliency.
The Ephs went on the power play to start the
third period, but could not find the back of the net despite a
number of good looks.
Williams carried that momentum as they peppered Amherst goalie Cole
Anderson. Just as
things appeared to be going Williams' way, Smigelski was
called for boarding.
Brock scored a beautiful goal on an assist from
Rhone. The Ephs fought on,
however. Following a scrum with 4:30 to go that
left Williams with the man advantage, the Ephs pulled Purdy for an
extra attacker. The Ephs were rewarded two
minutes later when big man Ryan Scott hit the top corner on a
rocket slap shot from the point. The Ephs
continued to create chances, but were put away on an empty net goal
by Trip Wray with 30 seconds to go in the game.
Head Coach Bill Kangas was not too
disappointed following the team's first defeat of the season,
saying: “It was a good hockey game. We
played hard and fought until the end, but we just weren't
able to take advantage of our opportunities and they
were.” He praised Amherst netminder
Anderson, saying that “We had quite a few grade A chances,
and their goalie came up with some big saves.”
Amherst improves to 8-2 on the season as they
take on 8th ranked Middlebury
tomorrow. Williams falls to 6-1-1 on the season
as they look to rebound tomorrow in a NESCAC contest against
Hamilton.
