Box Score
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—Despite a fantastic
performance by Ephs' goaltender Chloe Billadeau,
a late goal from Courtney Baranek gave NESCAC rival Amherst the
edge for the second straight day.
A penalty on Amherst's Kaitlyn McInnis early in the frame gave
Williams the only powerplay of the period. The Ephs peppered Sinead
Murphy (Rochester, MN) with shots, but Murphy and the Lord Jeff
defense were able to prevent the Ephs from capitalizing on their
man-up opportunity.
On the other end of the ice, Williams goaltender Chloe Billadeau
(Chaska, MN) put on an impressive performance in between the pipes
for the Ephs, making several point blank saves to keep the game
scoreless. With about 12 minutes remaining in the 1st,
Billadeau made a sprawling glove save to deny Amherst forward Emily
Vitale (Cheshire, CT) the goal.
The Eph forwards kept the pressure on offensively, testing
Murphy several more times in the period, while the Lord Jeffs
retaliated by ripping 11 shots on cage. Both goalies were
stalwarts, however, and the first period ended in a 0-0
deadlock.
The second period opened similar to the previous 20 minutes,
with much back-and-forth play. Both teams saw a few good
scoring chances, but neither could find an opening in the opposing
defensive lines.
8:34 into the middle frame, an Eph penalty created chances for
the Amherst offense. However, Williams managed to keep the
visiting team at bay. An Amherst penalty a minute later
relieved the Eph penalty kill unit and leveled out the playing
field momentarily. Williams would then see their best scoring
chances of the period, utilizing their man-up opportunity that
would last a minute. Cristina Bravi
(Montreal, QC) had Murphy under siege, firing three quick shots,
but to no avail.
With 46 seconds remaining, the Lord Jeffs nearly broke the tie,
as an Amherst forward drilled a shot that hit off the
crossbar. Amherst would enter the locker room with a 20-9
shot advantage, but the contest remained knotted up after
2.
Less than a minute into the 3rd period, it appeared
that the Lord Jeffs would take the lead. An Amherst forward wristed
a shot, which Billadeau turned away into the corner. An Amherst
forward picked up the puck and backhanded a shot that deflected off
the inside of the far post and along the goal line. Billadeau, who
was out of position after making the initial save, dove back into
the crease and swept the puck away from the goal line with her
glove to prevent the score.
A penalty on Bravi left the Ephs shorthanded with about 13
minutes remaining in regulation. For the 3rd time of the
afternoon, however, the Williams penalty-kill unit was able to shut
down the Amherst offense.
The Ephs would record some solid offensive opportunities of
their own. With just over 10:30 to play, a Williams forward crossed
a pass to a waiting Bravi in the slot, who one-timed the puck just
wide of the cage. Off a faceoff shortly after, Kristen Tubbs
(Garden City, NY) manage to send a shot on Murphy that the Lord
Jeffs goalie was able to turn away.
Another Williams penalty left the Ephs down a skater with just
over 8 minutes remaining in regulation. The Lord Jeffs worked the
puck quickly around the perimeter, but the shorthanded Ephs managed
to clear the puck out of their zone a few times. Billadeau made
another spectacular glove save with around 7 minutes remaining, as
she managed to track the puck through traffic to make the sprawling
stop.
Amherst's shot advantage, however, finally paid off, and with
5:58 remaining in the game the Lord Jeffs were finally able to
seize the lead. Barrett McBride (Glenview, IL) and Ellen
Swiontkowski (Minnetonka, MN) worked the puck around Eph defenders
before finding Courtney Baranek (West Babylon, NY) on the left
side. Baranek skated the puck inside the left circle, then wristed
a shot that deflected off Billadeau's shoulder for the ultimate
game-winner.
Undeterred, the Ephs kept the pressure on for the remainder of
the frame. Williams was able to pepper Murphy with a few more
shots, and took advantage of the extra skater from pulling
Billadeau late in the frame. A penalty on the Lord Jeffs with just
over 20 seconds remaining in play gave the Ephs a 6-on-4 advantage
for the waning seconds of the game, but Amherst successfully denied
Williams' attempts and held on for their 17th win of the
season.
"I think we really played a complete 60 minutes today. They're
one of the best teams in the country, and to be able to stick with
them for the entire game and play as well as we did is an
accomplishment," the Ephs' Meghan Gillis remarked after the
contest, "Chloe kept us in the game today, and made some pretty key
saves for us in net."
Both keepers turned in spectacular games for their squads, with
Billadeau finishing up the game with 31 saves for the Ephs and
Murphy with 21 stops for the Lord Jeffs. Amherst remains atop the
NESCAC podium with an 11-1 conference record, while Williams
currently stands at 6th with a 9-11 overall record (5-7
NESCAC).
With only NESCAC opponents Middlebury and Connecticut College
remaining in the regular season, the Ephs will look to lock up a
place in the NESCAC tournament. The Panthers travel to
Lansing-Chapman Rink on Friday afternoon for a 4:30 pm matchup with
the Ephs, with play moving up to Middlebury on Saturday afternoon
at 4 pm.
