WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—On the last home contest
for the five Williams seniors—Hannah Systrom, Eliza Foster,
Sarah Herr, Kristen Tubbs,
and Kate
Foley—the Ephs were able to end the season on a high note
by downing Connecticut College for the second straight day. Two
goals from junior Sam Weinstein and
an empty-netter from Cristina Bravi
paved the way for Williams' 11th win of the season.
In a start similar to last night's contest, a 2-1 win for the
Ephs, Williams was quick to jump on the scoreboard. A penalty on
Connecticut College defender Amelia Dineen (Arlington, MA) left the
Camels shorthanded 21 seconds into the game, giving Williams their
first powerplay of the afternoon.
With the Ephs a skater up, senior captain Hannah Systrom
(Winchester, MA) passed the puck to Sarah Herr (Princeton, NJ) at
the point. Herr controlled the puck for moment before finding Sam
Weinstein (Marblehead, MA) in the slot, who made a move around a
Conn defender and ripped a low, blocker-side shot on Camel goalie
Kelsie Fralick (West Chester, PA) that found the back of the net to
give the Ephs a 1-0 lead.
"All the seniors set the tone. It was great that we have five
seniors so that we could start all of them," Williams coach Meghan
Gillis remarked of her senior leadership, "They got the puck in
deep on the first shift and really worked hard to get that first
penalty, and we were able to capitalize on the
powerplay."
Although both teams would record 3 powerplay opportunities in
the opening frame, the Williams and Conn penalty-kill units would
keep the status quo to close out the first period.
Opening the middle frame, neither team was able to establish
offensive dominance, resulting in much back-and-forth action.
Physical play prevailed for the next 13 minutes, neither team
gaining an edge until 13 minutes in when Williams saw a chance to
increase their lead. Aimee Dennett
(Highlands Ranch, CO) passed the puck from the low left side to a
waiting Alyssa
Veil (Eden Prairie, MN) in the slot, who one-touched it just
wide of the net.
The momentum would briefly shift in the Camels' favor with a
Williams penalty following Veil's attempt. However, the
playing field was leveled 20 seconds later as a Connecticut College
penalty set up a 4-on-4 situation.
It looked as if the contest would remain 1-0 in the Ephs'
advantage headed into the locker room, until a late period penalty
coming from Connecticut College sparked the Eph offense. With
34 second remaining, Sam Weinstein (Marblehead, MA) walked the puck
in from the blue line and wristed a shot that deflected off a
Connecticut College stick and over Fralick's head. Systrom
and Gabby Vukasin (Princeton, NJ) aided Weinstein's
tally.
10 seconds later the Camels answered, posting a late period goal
themselves to bring the contest back within one. Leigh Getz
(Clifton Park, NY) carried the puck directly across the ice from
the right side and slid a backhand shot that found its way past the
low blocker side of Chloe Billadeau
(Chaska, MN).
Williams managed to hang onto their 2-1 lead throughout the
final frame, denying the Camel's best attempts, including one
coming at the 12:09 mark. Connecticut College had a 2-on-1
with Eph netminder and got a shot off from the slot.
Billadeau made the save, but the puck squirted loose, giving the
Camel offense an opportunity to capitalize on a rebound.
Billadeau would keep the visiting team at bay however, leaving the
score at 2-1.
Connecticut College tried to stage a late game comeback, pulling
Fralick with 3:51 remaining in regulation. The Ephs failed to
relinquish their lead, and taking advantage of an empty net, took a
comfortable two-goal lead with 2:13 to go. Eph forward
Cristina Bravi (Montreal, QC) caused a turnover in the neutral
zone, picked up the loose puck, and lofted it into the open net to
finalize the score at 3-1.
The Camels saw one last opportunity, as two Eph penalties and an
extra skater gave them a 6-on-3 advantage with 28 seconds
remaining. Billadeau and the Williams defense would silence
their comeback efforts, posting their second straight victory in as
many days over Connecticut College.
Gillis expressed her confidence with her team's play to close
out the regular season, commenting, "We had a really tough stretch
with those top 3 teams in the NESCAC. To win this afternoon helps
get us mentally prepared for next weekend when we face
Bowdoin."
Both keepers turned away 19 shots on the afternoon, and
Billadeau finalized her stellar rookie season with her
9th win of the year. Clinching the 6th seed
in the NESCAC tournament with today's victory, the Ephs will face
Bowdoin next Saturday at 1 pm in the conference quarterfinals in
Brunswick, Maine.
2012 NESCAC Women's Ice Hockey Championship
Seeding
Quarterfinals – Saturday, Feb. 25 at higher
seeds
No. 8 Colby at No. 1 Middlebury – 1:00 p.m.
No. 7 Connecticut College at No. 2 Amherst – 1:00 p.m.
No. 6 Williams at No. 3 Bowdoin – 1:00 p.m.
No. 5 Hamilton at No. 4 Trinity – 3:00 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, March 3 at Highest Remaining
Seed
Lowest remaining seed vs. Highest remaining seed – 1:00
p.m.
Remaining first round winners – 4:00 p.m.
Championship – Sunday, March 4
Semifinal Winners – 2:00 p.m.
