Box Score Brunswick, ME--- A goal with less than three minutes remaining in the final frame by freshman Eph forward, Tyler Young, lifted Williams (11-3-2, 7-1-2 NESCAC) over Bowdoin (10-5-2, 6-5-1 NESCAC) for a 2-1 victory up in Brunswick, ME.
Just a day after suffering a loss to Colby in the final minutes, the Williams men's hockey team picked up a win of their own today in the closing moments of the third period.
The first period of play was dominated by the Ephs and the shot differential made it visibly apparent. Williams outshot Bowdoin 25-5 in the first twenty minutes all while never even being on the power play for a second.
Bowdoin goaltender, Steve Messina, remained perfect between the pipes up until the 9:54 mark of the first period. Williams forwards Tyler Young and Paul Steinig came down the ice and into the offensive zone on a 2 on 1 situation. Young drove to the net and slid the puck across the slot onto Steinig's stick. Steinig then buried the puck into the back of the net past Messina for his third goal on the year.
After the first period, both teams headed into the intermission with the Ephs up by a score of 1-0.
Sean Dougherty (23 saves on 24 shots) was terrific in net and made several key saves down the stretch to keep the game close for his team all afternoon.
Despite having several power play opportunities and even a 5 on 3 man advantage at one point, the Ephs could not get the puck past Messina for the entirety of the second period. After forty minutes of hockey, the score remained at Williams 1, Bowdoin 0.
After controlling their 1-0 lead for two periods and a half, the Ephs finally surrendered to a Bowdoin attack and gave up a goal. Sophomore Bowdoin forward, Matt Rubinoff, put away a rebound goal after a shot from the point at the 8:07 mark. Assists were awarded to Harry Matheson and Colin Downey.
For the second time in two days, Williams found themselves locked up in a 1-1 tie late in the third period. The game looked as though it would require a five-minute overtime period until freshman Eph forward, Tyler Young, out away a rebound goal to put his team up by one with only 2:34 remaining in the game. Assists were awarded to forwards, Matt Werner, and, Alex DeBaere.
Williams head hockey coach, Bill Kangas, was thrilled with his team's win that was decided in the waning moments of the game, "That's how our league is, every game is a battle. It was nice to see the guys come out strong early in the game today especially after suffering a late loss to Colby yesterday. We played smart with the puck and were fortunate enough to get a good opportunity late in the game today."
The Ephs picked up their 11th win on the year, 7th of which has come against NESCAC opponents. Williams takes to the ice again next Friday, 1/31, at 7 pm at Lansing Chapman Arena in Williamstown, MA, against NESCAC opponent Connecticut College (3-10-1, 2-6-0 NESCAC).
