Box Score
PLATTSBURGH, NY - Nationally-ranked Plattsburgh State (11-4-1) scored two goals in the first and third periods to hand the Williams College men's hockey team (9-3-1) their third loss of the season.
The win this afternoon gives Plattsburgh State a 9-0-1 record over their last ten games; their last loss was almost two months ago to Buffalo State on November 19th, 2010.
Scoring the lone goal for the Ephs was Connor Olvany '11, while forwards Matt Masucci '11 and Ben Contini '11 contributed assists. Olvany's score was his eighth of the season and ties him with Contini for the team lead.
His goal came on the power play at the eight minute mark of the first period and cut the Cardinal lead to 2-1 at the time. The Cardinals had jumped out to an early advantage when defenseman Ryan Corry scored the first goal of the game only 19 seconds into the action. Plattsburgh State extended its lead to 2-0 around the three-minute mark when a puck shot by Cardinal forward Ryan Craig deflected off a Williams defender and into the net for the goal.
Despite being down two goals early in the game, the Ephs battled hard to find their way back into the game. They managed 10 shots on goal in the first period and got a number of good scoring chances, but with the exception of Olvany's power play goal they were unable to convert these chances into goals.
Less than five minutes into the second period, Plattsburgh State got on the board again when forward Dan Silasis added another score to widen the Cardinal lead to 3-1. A goal by forward Dylan Clarke at the twelve-minute mark of the third period made it 4-1, and the Cardinals added an empty net goal with less than a minute left to skate away with a 5-1 victory.
Williams goaltender Ryan Purdy '12 finished the game with 23 saves in 56:39 minutes of play, while Plattsburgh State goalie Josh Leis made 24 saves in 60 minutes of play.
Even though the final score wasn't pretty, Head Coach Bill Kangas was proud of the way his team fought throughout the game: "I thought the score wasn't truly indicative of the game. Plattsburgh State is a very good team, and we played hard and got good scoring chances early in the game but just weren't able to capitalize."
The Ephs finished with 25 shots on the afternoon, only three behind Plattsburgh's 28.
Williams will look to bounce back next weekend with a pair of conference games against the St. Anslem Hawks (7-5) and the New England College Pilgrims (5-7-2). The Ephs will take on St. Anslem at 7 PM on Friday and battle New England College at 3 PM on Saturday. Both games will be held at Lansing Chapman Rink.
