Box Score
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - Ben Contini '11 scored two goals and added two assists for the Williams College men's hockey team (9-2-1) as they topped NESCAC foe Trinity College (4-6-3) by a score of 5-0.
Coming off a big overtime win Friday night against the Wesleyan Cardinals, the Ephs took the ice Saturday in front of a large, raucous crowd at Lansing Chapman Rink and kept their momentum going with two goals in the first period to jump out to a 2-0 advantage.
The first Williams goal came at the ten-minute mark, when senior captain Matt Masucci '11 controlled the puck in the offensive zone near the right boards and found John Wickman '13 at the left edge of the right circle. Wickman blasted a wrist shot that bounced off top right pipe and into the net for a goal and a 1-0 advantage.
Feeding off the energy of the crowd, the Ephs found the back of the net just two minutes later, when Masucci set up another Williams goal. The senior captain skated to the top of the offensive zone and then whipped around to find Evan Dugdale '13 at the top of the left circle. Dugdale corralled the bouncing puck and let loose a low slapshot that went five-hole through the goaltender's legs to put Williams up 2-0 heading into the locker room.
The Ephs kept rolling in the 2nd period, and their offensive attack led to another goal less than two minutes after intermission. After a save by the Trinity goaltender, the Bantams attempted to clear the puck from the zone but lost track of it near the right side of the net. Justin Guttek '11 jumped on the loose puck and made a quick pass to a wide-open Contini in front of the net, who extended the Williams lead to 3-0 with a top-shelf wrist shot.
Contini would find the net again at the five-minute mark of the second period, this time on the power play, to make the score 4-0 in favor of the home team. After a clearance by Trinity, the Eric Rubino '13 carried the puck quickly back into the offensive zone and found his senior teammate streaking down the middle of the ice. Contini made a quick move to his backhand and flipped the puck into the left side of the net for the goal.
The Williams defense was also strong throughout the period. Even on man-advantages for the Bantams, the Ephs forced Trinity to take difficult shots from the blue line, which goaltender Ryan Purdy '12 handled capably to keep the Bantams off the board.
Purdy was outstanding all afternoon and notched his third shutout of the season by making 30 saves in as many shots in 60 minutes of play. Trinity goaltender Benjamin Coulthard made 25 saves in 40 minutes of action before being removed for the final period. His backup, senior Wesley Vesprini, made 8 saves on 10 shots in 20 minutes of play.
Williams added its fifth goal of the afternoon late in the period with another score on the power play. Making a series of sharp passes, the Ephs worked the puck to Contini, who found Justin Troiani '12 on the right side near the blue line. Troiani tossed a wrist shot on net, and the puck slipped by the goaltender's left shoulder and into the net to make the score 5-0 Williams.
The goal was Williams' second power play goal of the night, and Head Coach Bill Kangas was pleased with his team's strong effort on the man advantage: "We moved the puck well [on the power play] all game and got some great scoring chances on top of the two goals [that were scored]."
The second-period goal would be the last of the night for the Ephs, as neither team could find the net in the third period. The Bantams picked up the tempo in the final frame, carrying the puck toward the Williams net and getting several good chances to score their first goal. However, the Eph defense turned them away, jumping on loose pucks in front of the net and clearing them from the zone. Purdy also made a number of strong saves on rebound attempts to keep the Bantams off the board.
With the win this afternoon, the Ephs remain in second place in the NESCAC standings behind Bowdoin. Bowdoin is 7-2-0 in league play having played and won one more contest than Williams.
Kangas saw considerable improvement in the way his squad played today, and he hopes that they can keep this momentum going: "We responded well today and are moving closer to where we were during the first half of the season, but there is still work to be done."
The Ephs will face another test on Tuesday afternoon against nationally-ranked Plattsburgh State (10-4-1), who has not lost in seven straight games. The puck drops at 4 PM in Plattsburgh, NY.
