Box Score
---Medford, MA--- With back-to-back weekends of two games against NESCAC opponents to open up the season, the Williams College men's hockey team (3-0-1, 3-0-1 NESCAC) found themselves yet again in a conference game on the road at Tufts (0-4-0, 0-4-0 NESCAC).
The Ephs proved to be tough enough to maintain their early established lead to remain unbeaten on the year (3-0-1) with a win on the road at Tufts (0-4-0).
Success did not take long for Williams, scoring the first goal of the game not even four minutes following the initial drop of the puck. Junior forward, Craig Kitto, raced down the length of the ice to beat out an icing call and snatched possession of the puck. He then rushed the puck directly to the net and beat the Jumbos goaltender top corner on a snap shot to put the Ephs up one. The lone assist went to freshman, George Hunkele.
Consistent play from both teams chewed up the clock for quite some time. Williams capitalized on the next great scoring opportunity of the game at the 14:17 mark during a 2 on 1 situation. Junior, Alex DeBaere, brought the puck down the wing and found teammate, Tyler Young, with a cross ice pass. Young finished on the open net for his first collegiate goal to put his squad up 2-0 after one period.
Another strong performance by Williams goaltender, Sean Dougherty, helped the Ephs to remain unbeaten. Dougherty turned away 22 of the 23 shots he faced from the Jumbo offense and kept his team in a position to win from the start.
The Ephs furthered their lead to 3-0 after a goal with just over six minutes remaining in the second period. Sophomore defenseman, Zander Masucci, rushed the puck up the red line and dumped the puck into the offensive zone. Freshman, James McNamara seized possession of the puck and fired a shot on net. DeBaere was in the right place at the right time and put away the rebound to put the Ephs up by three goals.
Williams head coach, Bill Kangas was satisfied with his team's offensive attack, "Good things happen when we put the puck on net. Timely goals were the difference in today's game which resulted in good opportunities that resulted from good shots."
The Ephs finished out the period with the score still at 3-0
The first half of the third period did not consist of many scoring threats and the Ephs maintained their three-goal lead. It was not until the 7:53 mark when the Jumbos were able to score their first goal. Forward, Andrew White, beat Dougherty and scored his second goal of the season with assists going to Conal Lynch and Blake Edwards.
Only thirty two seconds later, Williams reclaimed momentum with a goal of their own. Craig Kitto steamed a slap shot from just inside of the blue line and beat the Tufts goaltender top left side for his second goal of the game.
The rest of the game played its course with no more goals being scored. The Ephs improved their overall and conference record to 3-0-1 with a great combined effort in a 4-1 victory over Tufts. The Ephs are off until after Thanksgiving break when they host Babson on Sunday, 12/1 at 3:00 pm.
