Box Score
VIDEO Highlights
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - Two goals in the final period lifted the Williams College men's hockey team (15-7-3) past the Trinity Bantams (11-9-4) and into the semifinal round of the NESCAC tournament.
Coming in as the #7 seed in the tournament, Trinity gave #2 seed Williams a tough battle all afternoon, but a goal from John Wickman '13 with less than four minutes to go gave the Ephs the victory.
With #8 seed Wesleyan upsetting #1 seed Hamilton, Williams is now the highest remaining seed in the tournament and will host the semifinal and final rounds next weekend.
The game got out to a quick start, as Williams jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first minute of play. The goal was set up by co-captain Matt Masucci '11, who took a cross-ice pass from Connor Olvany '11 at the top of the blue line, skated in on the left side, and found Mark Lyons '13 in front of the net. Lyons made a quick deke to his left and flipped it in to give the Ephs the early advantage.
Trinity bounced back two minutes later, when Chris Menard chipped in a rebound attempt on the left side of the net after an Adamo Miceli shot from the right circle to tie the game at 1-1.
With just under five minutes to go in the first period, Olvany put the Ephs up 2-1 with a slapshot from the left circle that snuck between Bantam goalie Wesley Vesprini's legs. Defensemen Brian Malchoff '11 and Stephen Maier '12 got credit for the assists.
Trinity responded yet again at the two-minute mark to tie the score heading into the locker room. After a delayed penalty from Williams, the Bantams took advantage of a 6-on-5 opportunity when Joe Tierney chipped in a loose puck in front of the net to even the game at 2-2.
Both teams dialed up the intensity in the second period, and this led to an increase in penalties and big hits for both sides.
The Bantams would capitalize on one of these penalties four minutes into the frame when Egor Petrov and Jeffrey Menard broke free on a 2-on-1 opportunity. Skating in on the left side, Menard made a quick pass to Petrov who beat Eph goaltender Ryan Purdy '12 for the power play goal, giving Trinity its first lead of the game at 3-2.
Trinity almost extended its lead on another power play attempt at the ten-minute mark. After Paul Jaskot took a shot from the left circle, a scrum ensued for the rebound and the puck found its way into the net. After determining the puck was kicked, however, the referees called off the goal and the score remained at 3-2.
The Bantams would take their one-goal lead into the final period and remained on top in the first few minutes. The Ephs dug deep, however, getting a flurry of scoring chances that would ultimately lead to the tying goal with ten minutes to go when Ben Contini '11 and Eric Rubino '13 skated in on a 2-on-1. The Trinity defense made a nice play to break up Contini's scoring chance, but Rubino corralled the loose puck on the right side, moved it to his backhand, and flipped it in to make the score 3-3.
Both teams battled hard down the stretch, but it would be Wickman who came away with the game-winner for Williams. With less than four minutes to go, Contini took a shot from the right circle that was stopped by Trinity's goalie. Wickman was right behind Contini, however, and he took control of the rebound and fired it past Vesprini to give the Ephs a late 4-3 lead.
Trinity pulled its goalie with one minute remaining and pressured the Eph defense in the final minute, but Purdy made some nice saves to preserve the win and send Williams to the NESCAC semifinals.
Purdy had a great afternoon for the Ephs, stopping 33 of 36 shots from the Bantams in 60 minutes of play. Wesley Vesprini had a solid effort as well, making 34 saves on 38 shots in 58:55 minutes of play.
Asked about his team's effort after the game, Head Coach Bill Kangas commented, "Trinity played well early on and their defense did a good job, but we came on strong in the second and third periods and got two big goals from Contini's line."
Looking forward to the semifinals, Kangas added, "I'm really proud of our guys and happy to host next weekend, but we have to be ready for Wesleyan on Saturday. They are a good team, and the fact that they upsetted the #1 seed shows how much parity there is in the NESCAC. We need to be ready for every game."
Williams will square off against the #8 seed Wesleyan Cardinals next weekend, who are fresh off their upset of Hamilton. The game is scheduled for 1 PM and will take place at Lansing Chapman Rink. Following that contest, #5 seed Bowdoin will take on #6 seed Colby at 4 PM. The two winners from Saturday will square off on Sunday at 2 PM.
