Box Score
WILLIAMSTOWN -- After giving up a two-goal lead in the third period, the Williams College Men's Hockey team notched their first win of the season over the Colby College Mules on an overtime goal from forward Mark Lyons '13.
Lyons' goal came with just over a minute remaining in overtime. Evan Dugdale '13 set the play up with a nice pass to find Lyons in front of the net. Lyons was denied on his first shot attempt but controlled the rebound and flicked it past the Colby goaltender on the left side to secure the victory.
"It was great play for the winning goal," remarked Coach Bill Kangas. "I think Dugdale saw [Lyons] and he was the one that fed it to him, but it was a great goal and good play [by Dugdale]."
Lyons also notched two assists, finishing the afternoon with three points. Dugdale had two points on the game, contributing a goal and an assist. Also scoring for the Ephs were Cody Skinner '13 and Peter Mistretta '15.
The Ephs secured their first win against a competitive Colby team, which entered the game 0-1 after dropping their first game to Middlebury. Colby controlled the puck for much of the first few minutes, putting pressure on the Eph defense and creating scoring opportunities.
The Ephs soon caught a break, however, when several penalties in a row were called against Colby. The Mules killed off the first two Eph power plays, but Williams capitalized on a third Colby penalty with a goal from Skinner. The junior forward took a pass from Lyons behind the net, skated out to the left slot, and fired a wrist shot past the Colby goaltender's right pad for the goal.
Williams had a chance to extend their 1-0 lead when Colby was called for two more penalties, the second coming just as the Mules had killed off the first man-advantage. The Ephs appeared to take a 2-0 lead with their second power play goal on a controversial play with five minutes remaining in the period.
After a Mike Brofft '13 shot was deflected in front of the net by the Colby netminder, Dugdale corralled the puck five feet from the net and shot a wrister off the right pipe that appeared to ricochet into net. The Ephs celebrated, but the referees conferred and confirmed the no-goal call on the ice, and the score remained 1-0.
At the end of the first period, Williams had been on the power play for 10 of the game's first 20 minutes, but had only one goal to show for it.
Both teams wasted no time getting their offense going in the second frame, as three goals were scored within the period's first two minutes. The Ephs emerged from this scoring frenzy up 3-1 after goals from Dugdale and freshman Peter Mistretta.
The Ephs struck first when Dugdale scored less than thirty seconds into the period. The goal was set up by Mark Lyons '13, who won a faceoff in the offensive zone and flipped the puck back to Dugdale on the left side. The junior forward sent the puck on net, and it squirted between the Colby goalie's legs for the score.
Colby responded almost immediately. Off the ensuing faceoff, the Mules worked the puck into the Eph defensive zone, where defenseman Scott Harff fired a shot on net from the blue line. Eph goalie Ryan Purdy '12 made the initial save, but forward Dan Nelson slipped by the Williams defensive line and dove to tip the puck past Purdy on the right side for the goal.
With their lead cut to 2-1, the Ephs bounced back a minute late with another goal of their own. The score was set up by forward Matt Doyle '14, who made a nice pass from the back left boards to find Mistretta in front of the net. Mistretta slipped the puck by Colby goalie Matt Delaney to put Williams up 3-1.
Aided by their top defensive pairing of Broftt and Justin Troiani '12, Purdy and the Ephs were able to stifle the Mule attack and retain their two-goal advantage heading into the final frame.
Williams got another strong effort from Purdy, who made 24 saves on 27 shots in 63:18 minutes of play. For the Mules, Delaney stopped 25 of 29 Eph shots in 63:18 minutes of play.
After eight minutes of back-and-forth play to begin the third period, Colby cut the deficit to 3-2 with a goal from forward Chris Buonomo. Assisting on the play was defenseman Patrick Bursee, who made a nice pass to Buonomo from the right side for the slap shot goal.
For the second game in a row, Williams' opponent scored the equalizing goal with less than two minutes remaining. Tying the game for Colby was forward Cory McGrath, who slipped a backhanded attempt past Purdy on the left-hand side with just over a minute remaining on the clock.
Determined to create a different outcome than Saturday night's tie, the Ephs fought hard in overtime and their efforts paid off in Lyons' game-winner. The goal evened Williams record at 1-1 as they prepare for their next game.
"You can't look back, you have to look forward," said Kangas about his team's resiliency. "I think the guys did a good job today of looking forward, and to get the win was a tribute to them."
The Ephs will square off against Babson College on Tuesday at 7 PM in their third straight home game. It is their final game before Thanksgiving break.
