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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- This evening's ice hockey contest in the
purple valley was probably the most highly anticipated game of the
season, and not just because it was the first matchup of the
'09-'10 year between historically rivaled Williams Ephs (10-9-2)
and Amherst Lord Jeffs (16-2-4). This game also marked the
first matchup between Ephs' rookie head coach Marissa O'Neil and
her former Amherst squad, a team that took home the national
championship just last season with her as their assistant
coach. Unfortunately, the tides did not turn in favor of
O'Neil and the Ephwomen in this affair, as they fell 6-3 to the
Jeffs, a loss that drops Williams to 7-5-2 in NESCAC play and
improves conference-leading Amherst to a lofty 11-1-3 mark in the
consortium.
These skaters certainly did not disappoint those in attendance,
as this high-energy shot-fest featured 9 goals on 67 combined
attempts, 42 of which were credited to Amherst. The Lansing Chapman
Rink hadn't seen that many flashing red lights since hosting
Rochester on the 5th of December in what turned out to be a
10-score showdown. Of the 9 lamp-lighters, 6 occurred during
man-advantages (3 for each team) with the two sides amassing a
whopping total of 17 penalties.
The lamp-lighting began with a rather lackluster score at 7:50
in the opening period by Amherst's leading point-nabber,
freshman Geneva Lloyd, who casually tossed a shot towards senior
netminder Sara Plunkett from the top of the circle. The normally
sure-handed veteran was screened by a crowd of bodies on the play
and got caught off-guard, allowing the puck to slide through her
pads and into the net for a power-play goal. Although visibly
distraught, she did not allow the miscue to disrupt her
concentration, as she and the Ephs staved off the Jeffs for the
remainder of a period that was predominantly controlled by Amherst.
The second period opened to a 5-on-3 carry-over advantage for
Amherst, and the Jeffs utilized this two-skater handicap to their
full benefit. The first blow was delivered by junior pointwoman
Randi Zukas, who was able to rifle a rising slap shot past a
cluster of defenders and over the shoulder of Plunkett for her 5th
this year. Moments later, senior forward Michelle McGann spotted
sophomore Emily Vitale at the far side of the net and angled a hard
pass in her direction. Vitale titled her blade and deflected the
offer just past the left leg of Plunkett to claim her 4th notch of
the season and a 3-0 lead for her team.
“I think we gave them a little too much respect in the
first two periods,” reasoned O'Neil. “Amherst is
definitely a great team, but I felt that we gave them too much
respect and too much room for their players to skate. It was also
very tough for us to gain any momentum with how much time we spent
in the penalty box.”
Just as it looked like things were getting out of hand for
Williams, it was Amherst who ended up taking an ill-advised penalty
that stalled their own power-play effort. On the subsequent
advantage, the Ephs produced their first score, as rookie
defenseman and power-play quarterback Sam Weinstein's
blue-line blast tipped off the outstretched stick of sophomore
Eliza Foster and into the top shelf of the net to give the purple
and gold some life. Junior Allison Page also chipped in for the
assist on Foster's 4th of the season.
Although Williams was momentarily rejuvenated, this boost gave way
to another string of questionable penalty calls against the Ephs,
and on one of the resultant power-plays, Lloyd found net again from
the right circle to push the defecit back to three. In much the
same sequence as happened in the beginning of the frame, the Jeffs
followed up that power-play score with another quick strike, this
one during 4-on-4 play. Junior Julia Koch made several flashy stick
as she weaved through the neutral zone to find open space between
the circles, where she unleashed a backhander that handcuffed
Plunkett. Trailing forward Ellen Swiontkowski finished the job,
knocking in her 3rd this year to make it a 5-1 contest after two
periods.
“We knew that the way we played in those first two
periods…that wasn't the team we are,” affirmed
O'Neil. “We entered that third period with a relentless
and positive attitude and played the style of hockey that we knew
we could play. There wasn't even a question in my mind that
our girls would quit out there, even down four goals.”
The Ephwomen certainly confirmed these words in the final twenty
minutes, as they battled valiantly until the very last second.
Their efforts proved fruitful in the initial minutes, netting two
more special teams goals at 1:14 and 4:42 into the action. Williams
replicated their first goal on goal number two, when defender Kait
O'Brien let loose from the blue line to have her shot
redirected by a crossing Torrey Taussig to cut the Amherst lead
back down to three. The sudden score seemed to rattle the
Jeffs' concentration, as they committed back-to-back
penalties to set up a long 5-on-3 for the Ephs. The difference
would shrink to two goals as a result, thanks to the patience of
veteran forward Tracey Ferriter, who corralled a rebound, outwaited
sophomore goalie Sinead Murphy, and snapped it past the glove side
for her 8th of the year.
While these goals gave the Ephs a fighting chance, the clock
became their biggest obstacle, one that would prove too much to
overcome for the purple and gold, as Amherst entered a stubborn
defensive shell on even-strength. Freshman Megan Doyen closed
the deal late in regulation, walking out from the corner boards and
flinging an awkward-angle wrister into the net to settle the score
at 6-3.
Despite the tough loss, Williams will have a chance to redeem
themselves tomorrow afternoon, as they host the Jeffs for round two
of this archrival doubleheader. Opening faceoff is scheduled for
3:00 PM in Williamstown.
