NEW LONDON, CT – Coming off last night's thrilling OT win which secured Williams their 8th playoff berth, the Ephs looked to sweep NESCAC opponent Connecticut College Saturday afternoon, a pivotal game for seeding in upcoming post season play. Despite an early lead thanks to Michaela Levine's (Lititz, PA) powerplay goal, a late offensive surge from the Camels propelled them to victory, 4-2.
In similar fashion to last night, the Ephs capitalized first and took an early 1-0 lead. Playing on the powerplay, Williams worked the puck around the perimeter until an Eph forward got a shot off. The puck came lose in front of the net and freshman Levine was waiting for it. Simon jammed the rebound in past Fralick to give Williams the early advantage with 17:01 remaining in the frame. She was set up by Nitsan Goldstein (Ithaca, NY) and Andree Heller (Toronto, ON).
Despite the early deficit, the Camel offense continued knocking on the door, pressuring the Eph defense and netminder Chloe Billadeau (Chaska, MN) throughout the first frame. Strong play from Billadeau helped the Ephs to maintain their 1-0 edge until the 14:54 mark, when the relentless Conn. offense found the back of the net.
The Camel's shots on goal advantage would pay off with 5:06 to go, thanks to an even strength goal from Courtney Dumont. Caroline Corbett fed the puck across to Dumont, who struck to notch the home team's first goal of the afternoon and knot up the battle. Jen Morgan also aided on the play.
Headed into the middle frame, the Ephs would see two man-up chances in the first five minutes. Conn. College successfully killed both penalties and gained a powerplay chance of their own due to an Eph penalty coming at 7:30. The Camels used the puck well and peppered Billadeau with a flurry of shots, but Billadeau would handle the tirade, leaving the contest even at 1.
Head coach Meghan Gillis highlighted Billadeau's strong play, commenting, "Chloe made some ridiculous saves to keep it 1-1. She played really well throughout, and didn't let a goal in in the second."
Physical play continued for the remainder of the frame, both sides battling to gain an advantage. Williams and Conn. would each have another man-up chance, but neither offense could break down the penalty kill unit and establish control.
Williams skated into the locker room with 22 shots on goal to Conn. College's 27 after 40 minutes of play.
It would be an all-Conn. final frame, as the Camels came out firing in the third and took their first lead of the afternoon after just 53 seconds of play. Sam Schoeneberger got one by Billadeau to take a 2-1 lead. Justina Germano and Olivia Farrell were credited with assists.
Feeding off the Schoeneberger goal, the Camel's extended their lead less than two minutes later. Samantha Schuffenecker sent a wrister past Billadeau on the far post at the 3:12 mark to give her team a 3-1 lead. Schuffenecker was set up by teammates Ariel DiPasquale and Amanda Bogue.
The Camels would not be satisfied with their two goal lead, and struck for a third time in the third period to establish a comfortable 4-1. Their fourth goal of the afternoon came from Dumont, who corralled a rebound attempt and sent the puck through Billadeau's legs. Dumont's second goal of the day came with 9:02 left in regulation. She was aided by Farrell.
"We just had a couple of tough bounces, but you have to give Conn. College credit - they had a lot of consistent play which led to scoring opportunities," stated Gillis.
Williams called a timeout with 3:11 remaining to regroup. The Ephs did just that, and cut the Camel lead to two with just over a minute to play. Levine came in on Fralick's short side, and the puck hit the post before going in to make it a 4-2 contest. The Ephs immediately pulled Billadeau after Levine's goal, but it would be too little to late, leaving the score finalized at 4-2.
Billadeau turned away 33 shots in her 59:21 of play, while counterpart Fralick stopped 28 bids from the Ephs.
With the win, the Camels (7-8-1 NESCAC) clinched the 5th seed in the NESCAC tournament. Williams (5-10-1 NESCAC) will be seeded 7th or 8th, depending on the outcome of games later this evening and tomorrow. Regardless of their seed, they will compete next on Saturday.
