CLINTON, NY -- With their backs against the wall in their last game of the regular season, the Williams Men's Hockey team (15-6-3) staged a furious comeback in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime against the Hamilton Continentals (6-15-3) on Saturday.
Trailing by a considerable margin of 3-0 with just six minutes left in regulation, the Ephs struck with back-to-back goals from David Jarrett '15 and Greg Johnson '16 to narrow the lead to 3-2. With just 1:34 left in regulation, Paul Steinig '15 added a power play goal to tie the score at 3-3 and send the contest into extra time.
In the overtime period, Cody Skinner '13 took a pass from linesmate Evan Dugdale '13 on a 2-on-1 rush and buried a wrist shot from the left side just 11 seconds before the final buzzer to lift the Ephs to a dramatic 4-3 win and catapult them into sole possession of second place in the NESCAC standings.
"Dugdale skated into it and made a real good play on the 2-on-1," remarked head coach Bill Kangas when asked about the game-winner. "He just delayed it for a second and was able to open up a passing lane to Skinner, and he fired it on the ice and it squeaked through the goalie's pads."
The game's drama certainly fit the circumstances, as Saturday afternoon's contest had major playoff implications for both squads. The Ephs were fighting to improve on their third-place seed in the NESCAC and earn a second-place spot with a win, while the Continentals hoped to avoid being shut out of the NESCAC tournament with a loss.
It seemed to be the Continentals who wanted it more in the game's early stages, as the Hamilton offense put considerable pressure on the Ephs and goaltender Sean Dougherty '15 right out of the gate.
With 5:47 left in the period and about 20 seconds left on the power play, Hamilton defenseman Marko Brelih cashed in with the game's first score by tapping a rebound attempt past Dougherty to give the Continentals the early 1-0 advantage. Forwards Nicholas Vassos and Dom Jancaterino added assists on the goal.
The Ephs got a power play of their own right after Brelih's goal but could not convert, leaving the score at 1-0 in favor of Hamilton after one period of play.
Hamilton came out strong to start the second period as well, drawing an Eph penalty just twelve seconds after the drop of the puck. Less than thirty seconds later, the Continentals deposited their second power play goal of the night to extend their lead to 2-0. Vassos was the goal-scorer on the play, depositing a rebound attempt from the right side after shots from forwards Kenny Matheson and Pat Curtis.
The Continentals continued to surge offensively and added yet another goal less than five minutes into the period to take a commanding 3-0. This time it was forward Anthony Ruberto who notched the score, taking a feed from defenseman Bennett Schneider and firing a slapshot from the center of the offensive zone over the left shoulder of Dougherty.
Coach Kangas called a timeout following the goal to settle his team, and the defense held firm for the remainder of the period. On the offensive side of the ice, though, the Ephs struggled to establish a rhythm and create quality scoring chances. The Hamilton defense blocked a number of Eph shots late in the period, and those that made it through were handled capably by Quattrocchi.
The Williams offense still could not solve Quattrocchi in the opening minutes of the third frame, and as the period progressed it seemed that time would run out on the Ephs.
With six minutes left in regulation, however, Jarrett lit a fire under his team's offense when he took a pass from forward Eric Rubino '13 on an Eph penalty kill and buried a slapshot under the crossbar for a shorthanded goal that cut Hamilton's lead to 3-1.
"We knew that if we could get one, at least get them thinking and get us going a bit, we'd be OK," noted Kangas. "Jarrett did a great job rushing up the rink and made a great shot from the top of the circle under the crossbar. It was a great shot at the right time."
The Ephs kept the momentum going two minutes later, when forward Nick Anderson '14 found Johnson with a pass on the left side of the ice in the offensive zone. Johnson skated around a diving Hamilton defender and snapped a wrist shot past Quattrocchi to bring the score to 3-2.
The struggling Continental defense took a penalty with three minutes remaining in the game, and at the tail end of the power play Steinig completed the comeback by taking a David Jarrett pass from the point and burying a wrist shot from the right circle to tie things at 3-3.
While the Ephs poured it on offensively, Dougherty held down the fort on the defensive end, stopping all the shots he faced in the third period and overtime. Dougherty finished the afternoon with 21 saves on 24 Continental shots in 64:48 minutes of play.
The game seemed destined for a tie as time wound down in overtime, but once again the Ephs pulled through. Their final rush was sparked by great defense from McNamara, who blocked a Continental shot from the point in the defensive end. The puck came loose to Steinig, who flipped it forward to Dugdale on a 2-on-1 rush with Skinner.
Dugdale carried the puck in close on the right side and made a cross-ice feed to Skinner, who slammed home the game-winner on the left doorstep to give the Ephs a walk-off 4-3 victory.
"It was a tough weekend on the road, a couple of interesting games, but it was nice to pull out the wins the way we did," added Kangas.
The Ephs' efforts earn them a second-place seed heading into the NESCAC playoffs next weekend, where they will most likely face seventh-seeded Colby College (7-14-3) at home on Saturday. Official playoff seedings to be announced.
