BRUNSWICK, ME -- The Williams Men's Hockey team (17-6-3) withstood a late barrage for the second time in as many NESCAC playoff games, this time hanging on for a 4-2 win over Trinity (15-7-3) to advance to their second NESCAC final in two years.
The Ephs took a 2-1 lead into the third period and extended it to 3-1 on a goal from Eric Rubino '13 four minutes into the frame, but Trinity came storming back with a score just two minutes later from forward Jackson Brewer to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Bantams peppered Eph goaltender Sean Dougherty '15 with a flurry of shots in the last ten minutes of action, but the second-team All-NESCAC sophomore came up with a series of great stops to preserve the victory. With under a minute to play, forward Paul Steinig '14 put an exclamation point on the win by depositing a game-clinching empty net goal.
"I think our guys showed a lot of character," said head coach Bill Kangas following the victory. "[Trinity] got it to 3-2 with plenty of time left in the game, and they're obviously a very good hockey team, but Sean made some big saves in the end. That was a nice win for us obviously, and we get the chance to keep playing."
Dougherty finished the day with 35 saves on 37 shots in 60 minutes of play, including 16 stops in the third period. At the other end, Trinity goaltender Benjamin Coulthard made 28 saves in 59:27 minutes of play.
The Ephs entered Saturday afternoon's matchup with a full head of steam, posting a 7-2-1 record in the final ten games of their regular season and coming off a 2-1 victory over Colby in last Saturday's quarterfinal matchup.
Yet Trinity was no easy opponent, having contributed to one of those two losses in a 3-1 win over the Ephs on February 1. The Bantam offense was on point in the opening minutes, and their pressure led to the game's first goal just seven minutes into the first period.
Setting up the opening score was forward Charlie Mullan, who took a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that was initially stopped by Dougherty. The puck ricocheted to the left of the net, where forward Tim Shea was waiting to tap it and give the Bantams a 1-0 advantage.
The Ephs responded well to the early goal, though, picking up the pace offensively and generating quality chances on a power play opportunity midway through the period. With less than a minute remaining in the frame, forward Nick Anderson '14 almost tied things up with a nifty wraparound attempt from behind the net, but Coulthard made the save to keep the score at 1-0 after one period of play.
Williams retained momentum after the first period and came out flying in the second, cashing in with the equalizing goal just 1:15 into the period. After a shot from the Bantams just nicked the post in the Ephs' defensive zone, co-captain Mark Lyons '13 corralled the puck and moved it to linesmate Cody Skinner '14 on the counter-attack.
Skinner skated through the neutral zone to the left offensive circle, where he dropped the puck back to a charging Mike Brofft '13 in the slot. Brofft settled the puck and ripped a wrist shot past Coulthard into the top left corner of the goal to even the score at 1-1.
The Bantams responded about five minutes later with a long possession that generated several scoring chances, but Dougherty made several key saves and covered up rebound attempts to keep them off the board.
After a timeout from Coach Kangas, the Ephs returned to form and were able to produce their second goal of the afternoon with 12:30 left in the period, this time on the man-advantage. About halfway through their power play chance, Rubino made a nice play on the side boards to keep the puck in the offensive zone and work it behind the net to Anderson. Anderson controlled the puck and slipped a pass between a pair of Bantam defenders to Craig Kitto '15, who was waiting in front of the net to bury a one-time slap shot under the crossbar to give his team a 2-1 lead.
The Eph defense worked hard to preserve this lead as the period wound down, as freshman defenders Brian McNamara '16 and Greg Johnson '16 both denied Trinity forwards on one-on-one attempts in front of the net.
This strong defensive effort translated into offense four minutes into the final period, as Rubino made a great individual effort to notch what would be the game-winning goal. Taking the puck from his own defensive end, Rubino skated swiftly up the left side into the offensive zone with a defender on him. Gaining the edge on his defender, Rubino suprised Coulthard with a quick flip of his backhand that sailed into the top left corner of the net to give the Ephs a key 3-1 lead with just sixteen minutes left in regulation.
In the NESCAC playoffs, however, no lead is safe, and the Bantams proved this point with a quick strike just two minutes later to cut the score to 3-2. Assisting on the goal was forward John Hawkrigg, whose hard shot from the slot banged off the right crossbar. Confusion reigned as both squads thought Hawkrigg's shot went in, but Brewer had the presence of mind to corral the rebound and put it in for the sure goal.
With time running out on their season, the Bantams picked up the pace in the game's final minutes. Their best chance came on a wrist shot from the right circle with about four minutes left, but Dougherty made a sprawling blocker save to deny the chance.
With under a minute to go, Trinity pulled Coulthard from net for one last rush. Once again, though, Dougherty and the Eph defense were up the challenge, as Dougherty made a great kick save on a shot through traffic to stop another goal attempt. The Ephs were finally able to clear the defensive zone to Steinig, who blasted the puck from just outside the blue line into the empty net to seal the 4-2 victory.
"I'm real proud of the boys, how they worked today," added Kangas. "We know that it's great to be in the finals and great to be in that position, and now that we're here the opportunity is there for us."
The Ephs will head to the NESCAC finals for the third time in school history since the tournament's inception in 2000. They will square off at 2 PM on Sunday in Brunswick against the winner of Bowdoin and Middlebury, who play today at 4 PM in the other semifinal matchup.
