Box
Score
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA –
Freshman Cody Skinner ended a thrilling contest by converting on a
2 on 1 a minute into overtime. The goal gave
Williams a 3-2 win over visiting Hamilton, improving the
Ephs' record to 5-1 in league play. The
win was huge for the team, rebounding after a tough loss last night
to Amherst.
The Ephs got off to a bang when senior
assistant captain Zach Miller scored 4:02 into the opening
frame. Miller took a
pass from Brian Malchoff '11 and found himself all alone in
the slot. He fired
the puck low past Hamilton goalie Scott
Hefferman. Hamilton responded quickly, however,
evening the score less than three minutes later. Andrew Jelinek
converted on a breakaway off a pass from Joe
Houk. The Ephs largely controlled the rest of
the period, but they were unable to capitalize on their
pressure.
Hamilton played well in the second period,
testing Williams netminder Ryan Purdy '12
often. Purdy stood up to the test, turning aside
all 16 of the Continentals' shots. The
Ephs stayed strong and were rewarded late in the period when
captain Alex Smigelski '10 scored on a
breakaway. Smigelski came in all alone from the
blue line, using his speed to get around the Hamilton defenders,
before pulling the puck to his backhand and flipping it past
Hefferman.
The Williams lead held up until late in the
third period.
Numerous penalties hurt the momentum that the Ephs had following
the Smigelski goal, and Hamilton finally converted on their sixth
power play with less than seven minutes to play.
Tom Chiappetta scored off assists from Joe Buicko and Andrew
White. The rest of the third was a back and
forth battle with neither team able to put the puck in the
net.
Struggling for a vital win and two points in
the league standings, Skinner provided the
heroics. Skinner pushed the puck past the
Hamilton defender who was pinching in trying to keep the puck in
the Eph zone. Skinner
went in on a 2 on 1 with Matty Masucci and buried his shot past
Hefferman.
Head Coach Bill Kangas was thrilled with the
effort: “Those were two good teams going at
it. Hamilton's a very good
team.” He
emphasized the parity of the NESCAC this year, saying that,
“every game is competitive, every team's good and we
cannot take any nights off. We have to be ready
every single game.” He was also impressed
with the poise of the freshman Skinner:
“We competed well and Cody made a nice
play. It was a big goal to get two points and
the win coming out of the weekend.”
The Ephs hit the road next weekend, playing a
pair of Connecticut opponents: Wesleyan Friday night and Trinity on
Saturday.
