WATERVILLE, ME – Meghan Gillis and the Williams Ephs avenged yesterday's loss, downing NESCAC rival Colby this afternoon at Alfond Rink, 2-1. Two goals from two different Ephs - Sam Weinstein (Marblehead, MA) and Gabby Vukasin (Princeton, NJ) – proved enough to tip the visiting Ephs past the host team. Williams split the NESCAC series against the Mules with this victory, which offset last night's 4-1 loss.
A battle from the start, neither team would find the back of the net in the first period. The Ephs and the Mules both provided solid play on both ends of the ice, neither team establishing offensive dominance. A cluster of penalties coming from both sides in the final six minutes of play opened up brief chances, including a man-up opportunity for Colby at the 18:25 mark. However, the score would remain deadlocked at 0 headed into the locker room.
The Ephs wasted no time finding their offensive groove headed into the middle frame, as they recorded back-to-back goals coming within a minute of each other. 1:31 into the period, the pairing of Andree Heller (Toronto, ON) and Natalie Bernstein (Kenilworth, IL) set up senior teammate Weinstein to give the Ephs a 1-0 edge.
They took their lead and ran with it, tacking on another goal at the 2:26 mark. Vukasin, aided by Weinstein and Gwen Schultz (Wallingford, CT), notched Williams' second goal of the game. The quick succession of goals would remain unanswered for the rest of the period.
Pleased with her teams' surge of offensive momentum, Head Coach Meghan Gillis remarked, "I think we were able to screen the Colby goaltender better (this afternoon), and that's how we scored both of our goals. It was a great job by everyone. Screens, tips and turn of the nets definitely made the difference."
While the Mules were unable to get on the scoreboard in the middle stanza, several Eph penalties opened up scoring chances for the home time. Plagued by penalties throughout the afternoon, three of Williams' eight penalties came during the second period, allowing Colby to get off 12 shots on goal to Williams' 5. Several saves from Chloe Billadeau (Chaska, MN) and the Eph penalty-kill unit prevented Colby from capitalizing and cutting Williams' 2-0 lead. Gillis praised the penalty kill and Billadeau, and added, "We had three penalties in a row in the second, and we were able to kill all of them off, so that was crucial."
On the other end of the ice, junior goaltender Brianna Wheeler was tested five times in the middle 20 minutes, but only managed to save three of the five shots on goal.
Headed into the third frame, the Williams defense remained impenetrable up until the 12:22 mark when the Mules tacked on a goal. Annie Papadellis of Colby would try to generate a comeback with her tally, putting the home team within one of tying up the contest. Natalie Fischer recorded the assist on the play.
The Ephs did a good job of stunting the comeback however. A timeout called by Colby late in the third and the decision to pull Wheeler with a minute remaining was not enough to send the contest into overtime, and the score would be finalized at 2-1.
Pleased with her team's performance, Gillis said at the end of the game, "I thought the team did a great job playing as a whole unit and we made a lot of good passing plays at different points throughout the game. We were able to generate offensive chances and had continued pressure in the offensive zone."
Billadeau concluded the afternoon with 29 stops, while Wheeler finished with 25 saves during her 59 minutes of play.
The Ephs will look to improve their record (7-8-0) once again with a home game against Castleton on Tuesday night and two more next weekend against Bowdoin. Game time Tuesday is scheduled for 7pm.
