MIDDLEBURY, VT – Due to Winter Storm Nemo, the double header against Middlebury scheduled to kick off Friday night did not begin until Saturday afternoon. The Williams College Ephs traveled to Vermont to face off against NESCAC opponent Middlebury, hoping to end a 3-game losing streak and improve their conference record of 4-7-1 (8-11-1 overall).
Middlebury, currently on top of the NESCAC standings with a conference record of 10-2-2 (13-5-2 overall), was also looking for a win, coming off their loss Tuesday night to St. Anselm.
While the Panthers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first 20 minutes of play, it was the visiting Ephs who found an early offensive groove. "We started off strong. We hit the post, and then had another scoring chance within the first four minutes," commented head coach Meghan Gillis. Despite this early offensive surge, Middlebury registered the first goal of the afternoon.
Lauren Greer started things for the Panthers when she tacked on an even strength goal at the 13:03 mark. Teammates Emily Fluke and Kate Moreau were credited with the assists.
Fluke and Greer got back in the action with just under two minutes remaining in the frame on a man-up opportunity. The tandem set up teammate Hannah Bielawski, who sent the puck past Eph netminder Rachel Nguyen (Hermosa Beach, CA) to extend the home team's lead, 2-0. Bielawski's tally came at 18:02.
Middlebury controlled the puck for the majority of the opening frame, with a dominating 15 to 5 shots on goal advantage.
They would build off of this offensive momentum headed into the middle stanza and register their third goal 1:10 into the frame. Julia Wardwell and Bielawski found Madeline Joyce, who sent the puck home and gave the Panthers a comfortable 3-0 lead.
The second period would close in similar fashion to the first. The Panther offense got 12 shots off, while the Ephs tested Middlebury goaltender Annabelle Jones with five shots on goal.
Gillis commented, "We were getting pucks deep, we just weren't getting them more to net."
Williams would find the net eventually, but not before another Panther goal. Mackenzie Martin extended Middlebury's lead 2:16 in the final frame. She was set up by Jennifer Krakower.
Williams would break the shutout five minutes later on a powerplay opportunity when Aimee Dennet (Highlands Ranch, CO) and Gabby Vukasin (Princeton, NJ) found Sam Weinstein (Marblehead, MA) in front of the net for her 5th goal of the season.
It would be too little too late however, and Middlebury would notch their 14th win on the season, 4-1.
Nguyen turned away 31 bids, while counterpart Jones stopped 17 shots.
"The Middlebury offense was pretty relentless and the 2-3 system that they played gave them some good scoring chances," stated Gillis. She is looking forward to tomorrow's game, adding "We are looking to play a more consistent game, and if we play the whole game the way we did the 1st and 3rd period, it will be a different result."
Williams will look to earn a split on the weekend tomorrow afternoon at Lansing Chapman Rink. The puck drops at 4pm.
