WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—After almost a month hiatus, the Williams women's hockey team was back in action tonight, taking on conference rival Trinity. The Ephs kept the #9 Bantams in a 0-0 contest for the first 59 minutes, but the late game-winner from senior Jill Roloff put Trinity ahead in the final 5 seconds.
The opening frame ended scoreless, despite good opportunities for both sides. Freshman goalies Rachel Nguyen and Kristen Maxwell backboned Williams and Trinity respectively, turning away several shots. After stealing away the puck at mid-ice, Bantam freshman Emily Kleidon carried the puck up the right side for a one-on-one with Nguyen, but was denied by the Eph netminder. Williams tested Maxwell as well in the opening frame, but the period concluded goalless.
The second period continued the defensive battle, with the score again 0-0 to end the first 40 minutes of play. Picking up where the first frame left off, the second period also featured intense play between the Ephs and the Bantams.
Trinity had the opportunity to capitalize on a few Williams penalties, but the Ephs' penalty kills denied the Bantam attempts. Junior Eliza Foster made a sliding block on a hard Trinity slapshot from the blue line, and on several other occasions the Ephs managed to clear the puck the length of the ice.
In the game's last period, both teams played with intensity until the contest's final buzzer. With Trinity on a powerplay and 12:11 remaining in the contest, Nguyen made a great save on a slapshot from the slot. With 8 minutes to play, junior Kristen Tubbs had the opportunity to put the Ephs on the board, as teammate Hannah Lee centered a pass to Tubbs on the side post, but the deflection was tipped just wide.
With just over one minute left to play, Nguyen made 3 quick saves to keep the game scoreless. However, Trinity's Jill Roloff took a pass from Rebecca Rosen with 5 seconds to go and capitalized on the opportunity for the game's sole tally. From the low slot and through traffic, Roloff wristed a high shot just beyond the reach of Nguyen.
"I was really proud of the way we played tonight as a team," Williams coach Joey Lye said, "All our players, whether they were on the bench or on the ice, contributed. We played consistently hard the whole sixty minutes."
Both goalies were stalwarts in net, with Trinity's Maxwell finishing the game with 26 saves in the shutout and Williams' Nguyen notching 35 saves. In addition to Nguyen, another freshman, Ally Ensor, stood out defensively for the Ephs.
Williams falls to 1-7 overall (1-5 NESCAC), while Trinity remains third in the conference at 8-1-1 (3-1-1 NESCAC).
The Ephs skate again tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm, looking to defeat Little Three rival Wesleyan.
