Junior, Alex DeBaere's '15, game-winning breakaway goal midway through the second period proved to be enough for the Ephs to hold on until the final horn to close out with a 5-2 win.
The first few minutes of the game were filled with exciting transition hockey with both teams producing some minor scoring chances but nothing posed any real threat to either goaltender.
A strong fore check by senior captain, Nick Anderson '14, set up the first goal of the period for the Ephs. After Anderson seized possession of the puck down low in the corner, he slid the puck with a nifty backhand pass to junior line mate, Craig Kitto '15. Kitto then drove to the net and found freshman defensemen, James McNamara '17, on the doorstep for an easy tap in goal. McNamara's goal was the first goal of his collegiate career.
The next major chance for the Ephs came with just under seven minutes remaining in the period when senior forwards, Paul Steinig '14, and Matt Doyle '14, found themselves on a 2 on 1 rush. Steinig elected to shoot; Bowdoin goaltender, Steve Messina '14, was just barely able to get a shoulder on it end the scoring threat.
Williams found the back of the net again when Craig Kitto sniped the top right corner on a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle. Time of the goal was 13:36 with assists going to sophomore defenseman, Zander Masucci '16, and captain, Nick Anderson.
Before the end of the period, Bowdoin was able to cut the lead in half with a goal of their own while shorthanded. Senior forward, Harry Matheson '14, capitalized on a pass from fellow senior, Colin Downey '14.
The teams headed into the locker room with the score 2-1 in favor of the Ephs.
The second period was hard fought by both sides for the first half of the period until at the 9:09 mark when Williams junior forward, Alex DeBaere, finished on a breakaway with a wrist shot that beat Messina low to the left side. DeBeaere was off to the races after receiving a long cross-ice pass from junior defensemen, Brian McNamara '15.
However, Bowdoin refused to give up. Down two goals again, the Polar Bears cut the lead in half once again when Joe Lace fired the puck in the direction of the slot and ricocheted it off of an Eph defender's skate and into the back of the net.
After two full periods, the score stood at Williams 3, Bowdoin 2.
The beginning of the third period was intense as both teams battled for possession all over the ice. The period remained scoreless until the Ephs went on the power play after a Bowdoin penalty that was issued for indirect contact to the head.
On the power play, the Ephs controlled possession in the Bowdoin end of the ice and created numerous scoring opportunities. After a couple of great saves by Messina, Greg Johnson ripped a wrist shot from the top of the slot after receiving a heads up pass from down behind the goal line from freshman forward, Tyler Young '17.
With the score now at 4-2 in favor of the Ephs sought to extend their lead. Just over a minute after Johnson's goal from the point, freshman forward, George Hunkele '17, finished on a redirect out front. The lone assist was credited to Craig Kitto. Hunkele's goal was the first of his collegiate career.
Eph head coach Bill Kangas was extremely proud with his team's effort tonight as well as the improvement that his team made from yesterday's tie versus Colby. Kangas said, "Bowdoin is a very good hockey team; a team that had handed us one of our few home losses last year. I thought that we played very well considering it was only our second game of the year. We made big strides of improvement from game 1 to game 2. We were a much cleaner team tonight and shot selection was a key component in the win. Finishing up a weekend with three points is always good, we'll take the day off tomorrow and get ready for a tough series next weekend."
Williams improves their record to (1-0-1, 1-0-1 NESCAC). The Ephs are on the road for both of their games next weekend against NESCAC opponents. The site for Friday's game will be at Connecticut College at 7 pm, while the game on Saturday will be at 4 pm at Tufts.
