Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- The Williams College Ephs (10-2-2) faced off against the Plattsburgh State Cardinals (14-2-2) in a non-conference matchup at Lansing Chapman Rink on Saturday night. The Cardinals came into this game on a four-game win streak after a 4-2 win over Middlebury. The Ephs, who are were looking for their 10th win of the season, came in off of a 4-1 win over Manhattanville on Friday night.
The visiting Cardinals are the toughest opponents the Ephs have faced all season coming in ranked 3rd in the country according to d3hockey.com national poll. The Ephs who were previously ranked 7th in the country were pushed back to 12th after the 3-2 overtime loss to Johnson and Wales.
Early on the two teams showed why they are some of the best in the country with each team getting their fair share of opportunities in the first period. The Cardinals started off early with a long possession registering three shots, but all were swatted away by the junior goaltender Sean Dougherty, who remained perfect through the first.
The Ephs had their first big opportunity after the Cardinals' junior Michael Cassidy was sent to the box for tripping with just over 10 minutes left to play in the period. Although the Cardinals did a good job of not allowing many shots to get through, sophomore defensemen Greg Johnson was able to rifle a shot from the point and the puck rang off the post and was covered by Matthieu Cadieux, the Cardinals' senior goaltender.
Both teams shared equal opportunities in the first, but the game remained scoreless going into the 2nd period.
The Cardinals came out of the gates running early in the second period as the sophomore Dillan Fox went in on a breakaway but was denied by Dougherty's left pad. Fox was able to draw a penalty on the play as freshman George Hunkele would be sent to the box just 19 seconds in for tripping.
Cardinals continued their offensive pressure as Cassidy rifled a shot right off the face off but Dougherty was there to make the nice glove save. Dougherty made another great save as he flashed the glove off of Fox's shot from the middle of the slot.
Williams started off the second period slowly but picked up the pace as they netted two goals halfway through the frame, just a minute apart. At the 10:40 mark of the second period, freshman Luke Stickel was able to fire a shot past Cadieux, getting his first career goal. Exactly one minute after, that tally freshman Sam Gray was able to knock in a rebound goal for his third of the season, with assists from freshman Tyler Young and sophomore Greg Johnson.
The Cardinals had their best chance of the period with seven minutes to play as Cassidy threw the puck across the ice to the junior Mark Constantine who had a near open net but fanned on the shot.
The Ephs added to their lead with just under one minute left to play in the period on a fantastic goal by junior Craig Kitto,the leading goal scorer on the team. Assisting were senior captain Craig Anderson and sophomore defenseman Zander Masucci. The Ephs were able to close out the second with a 3-0 lead, as Dougherty remained perfect.
The Ephs trying to continue the momentum from the second period picked up the energy on a huge hit by junior defenseman David Jarret who stood up the 6' 3" Cardinal senior Nick Jensen.
The Plattsburgh had their first break just one minute in to the third period as sophomore Zander Masucci was sent to the box for tripping. Williams' senior captain Paul Steinig knocked the net off the hinges before the puck crossed the line, but fortunately for the Cardinals, Steinig was sent to the box for delay of game, earning them a 5-3 opportunity.
Plattsburgh junior Brandon Beadow ripped a shot from the right faceoff dot to what looked like an open net, but Dougherty came up big and robbed Beadow with an amazing sprawling glove save.
Going with the unlucky trend, Plattsburgh netted another goal on a deflection but was taken back after it was called high sticking. Desperate for a goal, the Cardinals pulled their goalie at 3 minutes left to play, showing a very aggressive strategy.
With just under two minutes to play, the strategy paid off as junior Mark Constantine netted the Cardinals' first of the game off a rebound with assists going to senior Barry Roytman and Dillan Fox.
The Ephs answered right back as freshman Geogre Hunkele came down on a 2-1 with Kitto, and unselfishly passed to Kitto for the easy empty net goal. Kitto would get his hat trick with 45 seconds left to play as he was able to put in another empty net goal off the assist from Anderson.
Dougherty finished up the game nearly perfect stopping 35 of 36 shots while Cadieux stopped 16 of 21.
With his 330th career victory, Coach Kangas (330-223-55) surpassed his predecessor Bill McCormick (329-351-18) to become the all time winningest hockey coach in Eph history. Kangas achieved this mark in his 25th season behind the bench for Williams.
After the game Coach Kangas said, "Tonight we played a really tough team. We play them every year, and last year they beat us in a really tough fashion. I thought Sean was really sharp tonight. We were very resilient, and that is the way our team has played all year."
The Ephs take the ice again next weekend at Colby, trying to add to their undefeated record of seven wins in the NESCAC.
